


Perfect Shadow

by coffeesoul



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha!Erwin, Alpha!Mike, Alpha/Beta, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Anal Sex, Beta!Hange, Biting, Bonding, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hunters & Hunting, Kidnapping, M/M, Marking, Mates, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mild Gore, Multi, Non Binary Hanji, Omegaverse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Content, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-03-26 01:40:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 66,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3832363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeesoul/pseuds/coffeesoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when one of the best hunters of Shiganshina village, meets a werewolf in a sacred Forest?</p><p>What if said werewolf reveals to be a young alpha that in his rage bit him, turning the hunter into a werewolf himself?</p><p>The hunter becomes the prey and joins the alpha’s pack, learning what it means to be a true monster, but also to fight for others, beside himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shiganshina Forest

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys! Here's another idea that kept spinning in my head. I really, really love omegaverse, so I'm really excited writing this! You cannot imagine how many sceneries my mind imagined and I struggled a lot to decide which couple I was going to write about. But I needed some emotional stability, so I decided to make this an ErwinxLevi centered fic. As always, this work is unbeta'd and english is not my first lenguage, so if any of you find some error, please forgive me and feel free to correct me :)
> 
> But stop wasting precious time, enjoy the first chapter!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That would be their end. Pups were sacred creatures, they were the heart of the nest, the hope for the future. They were not to be touched. Erwin let the rage swallow him, blinding all his sensations.  
> He felt himself howl and jump forward, the connection with his comrades snapped, leaving him shut out from the world. He didn’t have control on his body anymore, but he didn’t care. It was good to let it all go. He would pay the consequences later.

The forest was quiet, basking in the early summer twilight. The air was still, impregnated by the earthy scent of undergrowth mixed with dew and pine resin. A soft breeze stirred the green crows of the trees that stretched against the darkening sky, the crackling sound covering, for a moment, the gurgle of the torrent that run through the forest.

_Listen. It’s coming._

A young deer appeared from the green, his head snapping right and left, trying to identify any danger. It sniffed the air and took a step closer to the water. Then another, and another one. The deer lowered its horned head to lap the clear liquid, but kept moving its ears, alert.

_Stay still. Be ready._

A rustling came in front of the beast, and it raised its head immediately, looking for any threat.

_Breath-_

Another rustling, this time from the side of the river, a hiss cut the still air and the deer collapsed with a soft sound on the musky ground.

Two dark figures appeared from the greenery: a girl with black straight hair and black almond shaped eyes from the other side of the torrent and an older guy, stood from the crouch he was in, hidden just a few feet away from the deer.

“Here.”  Said the girl, sticking out a hand with a long knife to the other hunter.

The guy passed her his wooden bow, taking in exchange the knife and knelt beside the deer, a somber expression on his pale face. He rested a hand on the chest of the beast and contemplated it, his arrow piercing it. With expertise, he took the life of the deer, well knowing what a sacrifice it was.

“We’d better go back, brother.” Prompted the girl, after a moment of silence. “It’s getting dark. Today we took and were granted to live again, but we never know when the Forest will claim a life back.” Her voice was soft but confident. She spoke out of respect.

“Let’s go, before the old man barrels in here to look for us.” Replied the raven boy. He cleaned with grass the blade, then sheathed it to his belt. With some effort, he loaded the deer on his back and with his sister, set to go back to the faint trail they used hours prior to get to there.

“He’s not that old.” chuckled the ravenette, adjusting the backpack with all their weapons “Don’t you let uncle Kenny hear you say that again, if you want to avoid other crazy challenges just to demonstrate that he’s still better than you.”

The brother rolled his eyes “Don’t make me remember, please, Mikasa. It was a nightmare staying up all night placing all those traps around the village.”

“Yeah, but it definitely worth the face of the chief the morning after when he found his Head Officer caught in your bear net!” Mikasa cast a glance over her shorter older brother.

“Serves him damn right!” smirked him.

“Mikasa, Levi! Welcome back!” the guard that watched the perimeter of Shiganshina village greeted them cheerfully “A deer this time, uh? You’re very lucky, brats.”

“We’re not lucky, Sam, we’re fucking good.” Deadpanned the male hunter, Levi.

“Well, it’s in your blood, isn’t it?” The guard let them pass, still smiling.

Mikasa and Levi Ackerman lived with their uncle, Kenny Ackerman, in one of the many huts at the tail of the village. The man took them in early in their lives and now, at the age of nineteen and twenty-two respectively, sister and brother were the pride of old man Kenny, the best hunter of Shiganshina. The two siblings were extraordinarily adept at the job: they were agile as cats, strong despite their lithe figure and had reflexes of a hawk.

But more than anything, Kenny taught them the intelligence of hunting: you don’t hunt for greed. You don’t do that for power or spite for creatures, because those were lives. “ _The Forest is life, the Forest has a heart. Today you can have a piece of that life, but always be ready to return what you took. For the Forest will come back to take your life, eventually.”_ Kenny used to say.

With this teaching in their mind, the siblings learnt to go hunting only when strictly necessary and felt deeply every time they took a life. Obviously, if a grizzly attacked in a frenzy and there wasn’t other way but to kill it, they would do it, but they never rejoiced in death.

So, with their prey, Mikasa and Levi crossed the village, passing the wide square where merchants displayed their stands and goods were sold or exchanged. At this late hour, the place was free from running kids, but men and women still crowded the many braziers that lighted the square, some of them sitting in a circle with a drink in their hand, others chatting standing beside the comforting fires.

All in all, Levi liked Shiganshina. It was a quiet place, even if the village had its troubles for the exposed position in which it had been built: they were the last large human muster before the Forest, with all its wild beasts and bad ass trees and surprise attacks by some inexperienced group of raiders. Shiganshina people were hard, always ready to fight to protect themselves and smart enough not to wander too deep inside the Forest.

“O-oh” drawled a too familiar voice “What do have here?”

“Oh, for the love of god-“ Levi grimaced, while quicken his steps, keeping on coursing under his breath.

“Officer Nile.” Mikasa acknowledged the tall man with black hair and a goatee that was approaching them. He was the head of the guards in charge of the perimeter-the one who ended up entangled in Levi’s net, _yeah, that kind of idiot_. He was a nagging man, but a competent one. In her brother’s opinion, he was a lazy ass, but Levi couldn’t tolerate him regardless. There were very few people her big brother tolerated. She could count them on a hand. “What can we do for you?”

“What the fuck do you want? Again. “ spat Levi shortly after, still bent under the weight of the deer on his back. He hated that Nile was taller than him – _but Levi, my boy, almost every people over the beautiful and refreshing age of eighteen is taller than you! Fuck you very much, mind, and why do you have the voice of stupid uncle Kenny?_

“Aw, little boy didn’t have his candy today?” mocked Nile.

“And it seems that big official Nile Dok didn’t have his share of brain. Not only today, but-“ Levi was cut off by Mikasa’s hand on his mouth. With her other arm, the girl pulled her brother away from the other man.

“Mikasa, pull away you dirt-urmhf!” she adjusted her grip and pulled harder.

“Sorry Officer, Levi has carried the deer from the Forest and he’s tired. His hand could slip and drop the bloody thing against you, or he could drop his foot up your ass, so we’d better go home before Kenny comes to your office asking for a rescue team for us. That would require a lot of documents to sign, and we don’t want you to tire yourself, so goodnight.”

When Nile metabolized what the girl had said, the two Ackermans were already far off the path to their cabin. Yet the officer yelled at them “Ackerman, you are like the plague of the cows! All the three of you!”

Levi was brushing furiously a wet towel on his mouth “Tch. You _had_ to put your filthy hand on my face, didn’t you!” he growled to his sister. She chuckled while laying the table.

“Come on Levi, she did it for the greater good!” said Kenny from his chair, next the fire place “If she had let you speak your mind, now I’d be down to Dok’s office with bail money. Please, try and remember that he’s the law around here.”

“He’s a pompous ass with the brain of a squirrel.” Replied the raven, still brushing away imaginary dirt from his face.

“He’s a squirrel with power, boy, so behave. Please. You know we don’t have bail money.” Said Kenny with a softer and serious expression “And I don’t want to come barreling down the officers’ with my knife and axe to cut open all those scoundrels’ heads just to free you and the poor squirrels that run inside their skulls.” Kenny sighed “I’m old for this things, boys.”

Mikasa and Levi laughed.

But they knew –just as Kenny himself and Nile knew- that the old Ackerman was still able to pull that off. He wasn’t as strong as he used to be anymore, but he still was formidable in his line of work. Being a hunter meant you had to know your strengths and your limits, to know your hunting territory, to know your pray, to be patient and to take sudden decisions when you had to. And those were things that once you learnt them, they would always be a part of you. Once a hunter, always a hunter.

And Kenny Ackerman embodied this very concept, with his sunburned and slightly wrinkled skin that slided on firm muscles on his tall figure. Years reached him only in his greyish hair and beard, because his vivid grey eyes and hard, calloused hands were still more than capable of knocking down an ox.

After dinner, they set to dispose of Levi and Mikasa’s prey. The three Ackermans worked in comfortable silence, movements precise to keep the mess at a minimum. The next day Levi would have to clean the kitchen ceiling to floor anyway. Forests was one thing, but he liked his house as spotless as he could keep it. They were absorbed in their task, but when a quick sequence of knocks came from the door, the three of them left the position around the wooden table to arrange around the entrance of their hut.

And any Ackerman had a long knife in his hand.

Mikasa crouched right beside the doorframe, ready to stab any intruder’s leg. Possibly at their tendons, just to prevent any useless chase. Levi, who was the more nimble of the three, positioned himself on the headrest of their couch, and spied out the window that opened right next to the entrance. The raven raised four fingers. _Four men_. Then he lowered three fingers. _One of them, important._

Kenny knitted his brow. _What the heck wanted Zackley at this ungodly hour?_

The older man lowered his knife, but knew better then sheathing it. With his free hand he opened the door, an obliging smile crinkling the skin around his grey eyes “Darius, to what I owe the visit of the chief of our village in my humble home?” greeted the hunter, eyeing the other three men that accompanied him.

One of them was Keith Shadis, a tall and bald man with a perpetual scowl that gave him an always on edge air. He was a competent man and was the adviser of their chief. The other two men, Kenny supposed were guards. _Yeah, Zackley knew he was entering the wolf’s den. Always the wise one._

“Good evening Ackerman.” Replied Zackley, his fingers massaging his white beard, his usual authoritative scowl behind rounded glasses. “Where are your kids?” he asked, eyeing the shining blade in his host’s hand before entering the hut.

“Good evening to you, chief.” Said Mikasa, shifting in the door frame at the same time as her brother, swift like shadows. The two kids had already sheathed their knives, and so did Kenny.

“For the love of god, Ackerman, keep your watchdogs at bay, will ya!” snorted Shadis.

Kenny chuckled, freeing the doorframe and letting his hosts enter the little cabin “Please, enter. I’m sorry for the mess though, we were disposing of our last sacrifice.”

Zackley remembered the three knives in possess of the best hunters of his village, so he hurried the reasons behind that late hour visit. “Do not worry Ackerman, we came to request your services.”

Levi settled beside Kenny, his blue-gray eyes always on Zackley’s guards. With a side glance to the man, the raven saw his uncle cock an eyebrow “Our services, Darius? Care to explain why that couldn’t wait until tomorrow?” then, like he thought better, he added “Unless we have to act immediately?”.

Mikasa’s eyebrows knitted together.

“Mh, you almost got it, old man.” Mused Zackley “But I wanted to explain this matter far from any unwanted listener.” The stout white bearded man fixed his tiny light blue eyes on the three hunters.

All this shit was taking a direction Levi didn’t like all. Not one bit.

“As you know, my daughter’s wedding with the son of Kitts Woerman, from Trost village, is programmed for the end of this month.” The three hunters nodded slowly “And as you know, that man is a fool and a coward, but an inner position like the one of his village can guarantee us help, in case we get attacked or something comes out that damned Forests and destroy half of our fields. So, I decided it worth of the sacrifice of my daughter. All for our welfare and safety.” Zackley sighed.

“I see your point and I understand your worries, but I don’t know how we can help you. Unless you’re asking us to bring to you Woerman’s head. In which case-“ Kenny didn’t leave Zackley a chance to interrupt “I hereby refuse. And so do my kids.”

Levi and Mikasa were tense, but nodded immediately at their uncle words.

“How dare you, old recluse of a billygoat…!” Shadis was furious, but a sign by Darius shut him.

Zackley grimaced “Always so rude, Ackerman. I confess the thought crossed my mind, but… the danger of starting a civil war between our two villages was too high. I couldn’t risk that.” He chose his next words “But I took a pledge with Woerman. I had to. He made a request and I agreed to try and get him what he wanted.”

Kenny was starting to lose his patience, his arms crossed on his chest “Speak your mind, Darius, I don’t like to be asked a favor and being led astray.”

“Woerman wants a wolf, Kenny. Dead or alive, it doesn’t matter. In the inner lands their fur, or anything else, really, is very expensive and considered a status symbol. That’s to be our wedding offer.”

The Ackermans were dumbfounded. Wolves were so rare in their Forest! They were the most regal beings that lived inside the vast green. That was a sacrifice of too much high a cost!

“Darius, that’s pure madness! Our ancestors _venerated_ Wolves like gods, they were the protectors of Shiganshina! Even assuming that me, or my kids, find one of them, you’re asking us to insult our traditions! To wrong our people…how do you think people will react?” asked Kenny, shaking his head. “They could hang me and my kids!” Anger aggravated his features.

“Ackerman, we’ve got no choice. Think about the benefits the marriage’ll have on us, on our village! Woerman is willing to send his men to help us in the hunt-” Insisted Shadis, but even his insistence was somehow subsided.

“We don’t need the help of any shitty imbecile capable of handling a kitchen knife! We don’t-“

“A-hem.” Mikasa cleared her voice. Three sets of eyes rested on her straight figure. Her brother kept looking to the worn out wooden floor, probably reaching the same solution as the girl. In fact, as Mikasa began to speak, Levi’s lips curled slightly upwards.

“We could organize an expedition with Woerman’s men. Only, we’ll guarantee that those incompetent hunters would never find a wolf.” She said.

Then Levi spoke, elaborating the idea “Even if we did find any sort of track, wolves are the most elusive beasts, they’re intelligent, damn fast and have high enhanced senses. We only had to side track Woerman’s hunters and slow those morons down, until they give up the chase. But-“ and here the raven raised his head, his blue-grey orbs slid on every face “Nobody has to know what we’re going to hunt. Chief, you have to maintain this a secret from people, or we could be taken for fucking heretics!”

“Language, my boy.” Said Kenny, with the shadow of a proud smile on his face. The old hunter opened his arms and placed a hand on each of his nephews’ shoulder. “So, Darius. Have we got a deal?”

The chief nodded, still considering the terms of the pact “I think so, Kenny. You will depart as soon as Woerman’s people arrive, I don’t want that scum around too much.”

Kenny nodded, then pointed towards the couch and armchairs in front of the fireplace “That’s ok for us. Now, if we want to discuss our price…”

Zackley grimaced but followed nonetheless, he knew Kenny would milk out of him until his last penny.

Levi exchanged a serious look with her sister: they both hoped everything would go as smoothly as they just depicted, but when you search for a wolf, you search for trouble.

Fortunately, it had been years since someone last saw a wolf in Shiganshina Forest.

* * *

 

It was the third day of the chase. There were seven of them: three were black haired, obviously at their ease between the thick green of the Forest. The other four probably came from inner lands, because they didn’t know how to move, without attracting the attention of every living thing in a twenty feet radius.

They identified them during one of their usual reconnaissance rounds and, by now, the scouts he sent back had already warned their commanding Alpha of the presence of the hunters.

_-Ehi Erwin! One of those idiot bipeds is going to piss, can I bite him? Can I?_

_-Hanji, I don’t understand why you want to do such a gross thing._

_-They have trespassed our territory, Erwin._

_-Yeah, tell him, Mike! It’s a good chance to experiment the-_

_-Hanji, Mike, stop please. They’re splitting in groups._

Light on their paws, a small group of three wolves was hiding in the thick undergrowth, watching with bright and intelligent eyes the hunters’ every move. The smaller of the group, Hanji, had a rich brown fur, two lighter spots around her eyes. The other two beasts were bigger and heavier: the larger one had dark blonde fur, with longer locks cascading over the eyes; the leading wolf was a light honey-blonde specimen, with piercing blue eyes.

The three wolves communicated without a sound: everything was passed in colorful images and formed concepts through their minds. The honey-blonde wolf sniffed the air and without a sound, the wolves changed their position, widening their field of action horizontally, each one following a different group of humans.

_-Don’t go too far, or Hanji will lose our mind contact. We’ll follow them just to make sure they don’t take the direction to the pack, then regroup and go back._

_-Hay-hay, Commander!_

The dark-blond wolf, Mike, only nodded in response.  

The wolves separated. The honey-blonde leader -Erwin- followed the group of three, made up of the Black Shorty human and two of the inner bipeds. It was the bigger group and the raven human seemed to know his business around the Forest, so he deemed his duty as the leader, to keep an eye on this possible trouble.

_-Remember you’re our Commander, not an army of wolves, Erwin._

Erwin snorted silently through his nose at Mike’s warning, his powerful legs propelling his bulky figure forward, always in the shadow of the hunters. He was very cautious, thank you very much.

Luckily for them, they hadn’t take with them any dog! Otherwise, with their strong alphas pheromones, Mike and Erwin couldn’t have approached the humans. Only Hanji, the wonderful beta in his group, could have passed unnoticed, thanks to her lack of smell.

_-Oh, well, for once we’re lucky._

_-You could say that, Commander Paws! It seems that the Black Girl is just making the inner land idiot waste his time! She noticed a good trail, but changed direction. I think that maybe they don’t want to lead them to us…_

Hanji was cackling in their mind like crazy, seeing how the girl made fun of the man.

_-It seems that the Older Black is doing the same… going round and round the same spot. Now they’re looking up to… a tree. The tree they passed before._

Mike was thoroughly amused. Hanji began to wheeze, and had to cover their snout with their paws to suffocate the sound.

_-It really seems that’s the case._

Erwin agreed, weighing the super annoyed face of the Black Shorty that was supposed to lead the little group. Actually, he had his bow on his shoulder and was following the other two getting lost, watching around like the world had wronged him with its sun rising and all that crap. Yeah, Erwin could almost read it on the boy’s forehead.

_-Wow, such a pleasant sweet human._

_-Hanji…_

 Erwin warned, they had to maintain a clear mind to communicate to such a precise degree and still be able to control what those hunters were doing. The honey-blonde wolf shook his big head and when he refocused on the scene behind the shrubbery he was hiding, he realized he was watching exactly into two pools of blue-gray stormy eyes. The raven boy had discovered him! He was crouched over the bush in which Erwin was hiding, surely not expecting to stumble on a wolf.

_-Erwin!_

Mike’s and Hanji’s minds screamed his name, but the wolf lowered on his legs, keeping his gaze on the hunter before him. He didn’t dare to breath. Only his ears flattened against his skull, in reflex.

“What are you doing, kiddo?” bawled one of the inner human in the direction of the raven boy.

“Uh.” Was the eloquent response Levi gave “I… I thought I found a good spot to take a shit.” He quickly replied, shooing away the wolf, that actually was almost bigger than him. “Shoo- shoo!”

_-Like a fucking dog._

Erwin almost growled at the thought, but knew better than to waste the chance to retreat. So very, very slowly the big wolf started to withdrew. And maybe Erwin would have succeeded, if only he kept his eyes fixed in the raven boy’s ones. But, no, Erwin just had to look behind the short hunter, had to look at the scum that was hunting him and his brothers. And he saw them: the inner land humans’ clothes were accessorized with wolf’s fangs. They had earrings and necklace with little carved bones. Their own clothes were adorned with wolf fur. But what made the alpha lose it, were the knives the two hunters possessed. They were done with bone, too, but to have that curved shape… to be able to give the knife the right line, the bone had to be soft and malleable…

_- **PUPS!**_

Erwin growled, terrible and ferocious in his alpha stance: lips curled over his canines, legs held wide, muscles barely restraining the beast from jumping. The raven boy in front of him fell back on his ass, for the first time since he saw the wolf, real fear passed on his features.

- ** _Murderers! Nest thieves! Unforgivable!_**

_-Erwin!_

_-We’re coming, brother!_

Erwin was faintly conscious of the fear in Hanji and Mike voices that was transmitted through their connection. He knew only his alpha, he knew only the blinding rage that was consuming him from deep inside.

“Stay back!” he heard the raven scream to the slayers, but the two hunters approached the wolf grinning, holding their sinful knives. They ignored the raven warning.

_- **HOW. DARE. YOU!**_

That would be their end. Pups were sacred creatures, they were the heart of the nest, the hope for the future. They were not to be touched. Erwin let the rage swallow him, blinding all his sensations.

He felt himself howl and jump forward, the connection with his comrades snapped, leaving him shut out from the world. He didn’t have control on his body anymore, but he didn’t care. It was good to let it all go. He would pay the consequences later.

* * *

 

When Mikasa and Kenny arrived to the point in which they heard the rackus, it was too late.

In a blood pool lied Woerman’s hunters, their features unrecognizable, their limbs tore by big, hungry fangs. Their throats slit by angry claws. Their mouths opened in muted screams. Their eyes frozen in the most horrified expression the old Ackerman had ever seen.

Mikasa covered her mouth and leaned against her uncle, because in that slaughter, there wasn’t trace of her brother.

Aside his gory broken bow.


	2. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -Mike. Hanji.  
> -Oh shit.  
> -Care to explain why in the seven hells is the young hunter nuzzling into my fur?! And what have you done to him? Why has he grown ears?!  
> Erwin was emitting a menacing sound right from his chest, showing his canines, his neck hair erect in warning.

“Mikasa, dear… let’s go home.” Said Kenny, his voice so very tired and his shoulders sagging sadly. The man looked older, the usual mischievous glint in his eyes gone.

Mikasa stayed fixed where she was, gazing harder in the darkness under the trees, on the border of that _damned_ Forest. The Forest that took her brother away. _Why?_ Why did they decided to split into groups? Why those idiot hunters have to go and challenge gods-like creatures? Why did she think of such a foolish plan, why did her stupid brother agree and went along with her idea? _That grumpy, short, dense, caring and selfless brother of her…_ Mikasa felt a big lump in her throat preventing her from breathing.

“Come on, Mika.” Mikasa felt Kenny’s arms around her trembling shoulders and heard the man’s voice breaking upon the last words. “We’ll keep looking for him, girl, but now we have to rest.”

They searched for Levi for two days with the aid of their friends of the village, but they didn’t find any sign of Levi, nothing. Not a single footprint. What they found, were faint footsteps of big canids, but their hunting dogs lost all the tracks once they crossed the little river that winded through the Forest.

_Damned wolves, they were smart, for being a bigger version of a Chihuahua._

And so Mikasa let her uncle take her home, her heart and mind completely empty. Sniffing, she remembered what Kenny used to repeat “ _The Forest is life, the Forest has a heart. Today you can have a piece of that life, but always be ready to return what you took. For the Forest will come back to take your life, eventually.”_

But judging from her uncle’s grieving expression, she knew that in that moment, he would set fire to all those trees, if that could bring Levi back.

Wolves gods and ancient traditions be damned, an Ackerman didn’t stop in front of anything!

And strangely enough, this thought and the fact that not a single hair of Levi had been found, kept a little spark of hope alive in Kenny’s and Mikasa’s hearts: they would keep fighting –to find the truth, and to live without Levi- and maybe out there, her brother was doing the same.

* * *

 

He heard loud voices, too loud. He had a terrible headache, and was still too tired to growl at the voices to shut the fuck up.

He only wanted to rest in that wonderful warmness he was floating in.

_-Mike… Mike he’s waking!_

_-Yeah, Hanji, I can feel him._

_-Mike, he liiiiives!_

_-…and after your scream, I bet he wished otherwise._

But no, the voices were right inside his head, he couldn’t even cover his ears!

He let out an annoyed growl from his throat. When the voices _-finally!-_ piped down, what he heard was… a soft, lulling dream. Confused, maybe a little scared, but _so_ gentle. So nostalgic.

Like someone didn’t know where to go. They were calling for Erwin to lead the way, to tell them what to do. They would have followed him!

Erwin opened his eyes, the strange new voice in his head was becoming overwhelming. He needed his sense of sight to stabilize him.

When the alpha opened his eyes, he saw Hanji and Mike still in their wolf form, just like him. He realized they were hiding inside some kind of cave. His two brothers were crouched one beside the other –but no surprise here, they were mates – a few feet away from him and… Erwin shifted his icy stare to the form curled beside him, currently nuzzling into his chest honey-blonde fur.

He saw black furred ears and a black tail, but the rest was completely human. Erwin froze. He knew that human.

_-Mike… I think he’s starting to panic._

Hanji sounded too excited, barely restraining their giddiness.

_-Yes, yes, Mikey, look! First stage, disbelief. Second stage, confusion. Third stage, panic._

_-Wow, he’s fast, Hanj._

_-Yeah babe, well, he’s our Commander for you: he can manage his emotions in seconds. Oh, that’s the stage I like the least: rage. I really hope he doesn’t vent on-_

_-Mike. Hanji._

_-Oh shit._

_-Care to explain why in the seven hells is the young hunter nuzzling into my fur?! And what have you done to him? Why has he grown ears?!_

Erwin was emitting a menacing sound right from his chest, showing his canines, his neck hair erect in warning.

But he stopped when the intruder’s thoughts cut again through the connection, hitting the three wolves. Discomfort, fear, loneliness, desire for comprehension. At the same time, the human hunter yelped in his slumber, curling more in himself and pressing closer to Erwin, searching for comfort.

Something clicked inside Erwin’s mind.

_-Ah, our brilliant leading alpha!_

Commented Hanji, amused. Wolves didn’t have much expressions, but Erwin swore he could see the beta’s muzzle twisting into a grin. So Erwin took a long, calming breath, reading himself for an explanation he was starting to believe he would not like.

_-Ok, tell me what happened._

_-What do you remember?_

Asked Mike with his calm tone, snorting against the distressing pheromones emitting from the other alpha.

_-I remember the hunters and I remember their knives._

_-Yeah, well, after that it was all like WHAM!-CLASH!-BANG!-_

_-Hanj. Let me explain to Erwin. After you growled at them, warning not to approach you, our connection slowly faded, due to your rage, brother. We saw confused images of the dark haired hunter trying to stop the other two men, but you were quicker and attacked. Initially, you bit them only on their hands and legs. But in that mayhem, one of them hurt the black haired boy and you totally snapped. We really lost you there, Erwin._

Erwin’s brow furrowed in worry. He remembered very little. Than Hanji spoke, their tone subsided.

_-When we arrived, only a few minutes later, we found you in a blood bath. You… had killed the hunters that dared to parade with our brothers’ and our pups’ reminders upon them. They hurt you, they wounded you and your alpha slaughtered them. The raven hunter was barely breathing, for he tried to save both you and his stupid comrades. But you, Erwin… you’re no slayer. So you did the only thing you could to save the innocent boy._

Erwin was petrified, but he knew the worst had yet to happen.

_-You bit him, brother. And you changed him. It’s been three days since then and the both of you have slept all along._

Glossed Mike, with a whisper and a soft puff of air from his nose. He leaned forward to sniff the top of the head of the black haired hunter. Totally a werewolf scent.

_-I did…what?_

Erwin could believe he attacked those humans, he remembered letting his alpha go wild. He could believe the boy had tried to save them all, he just looked like the type –well, under all those deceiving layers of indifference, but wolves had good eyes and a better smelling sense for bullshit. What he had difficulty to process, was that in the middle of his rage he _chose_ to bit the hunter not to kill, but to _change him. To save him._ To risk that remote chance and make him one of them.

Erwin looked again at the little figure curled beside him, half human, half wolf. Only a possible commanding Alpha had the power to change a human in a werewolf. And even if the Alpha chose to do such a thing, nothing guaranteed the success of the process. A quite long and painful experience, if he remembered what the Olders used to tell them when they were pups. When the honey-blonde wolf raised his big head, two sets of eyes were watching him.

_-But you succeeded, brother. Don’t think about what could have happened. It didn’t. But this leave us with a new issue…_

_-Erwin! You can hear it, right? Can you hear his little voice in our minds? It’s so sweet! He’s just like a newborn!_

Hanji was barely restraining from yapping and wagging their tail. But Erwin couldn’t afford to ignore them for any longer, they were their beta and as such, the more sensible about their group. Moreover, Hanji knew a lot of useful things about their biology. Erwin considered such things physiological and natural, and since he couldn’t possibly have much an influence over nature _–not yet, at least_ \- he deemed them of minor importance, leaving all that instinctual crap for Hanji to study.

_-Explain, please._

_-Well! You changed the Raven, so we now know that you’ll be a leading Alpha. The Raven survived the change, so he’s a new member of our little happy pack! He will be the smaller one now, aw, he’s just so cute, with his grumpy-_

_-Hanji._

_-Sorry Mike-bun. What was I saying? Ah, yes, our pack. As you have already realized, the Raven has a strong ability to establish mind contact, and that in itself tells me a lot about him… But for now I prefer to wait and see. The other thing is: he’s a newborn. In the very sense of the word! You both have seen what kind of sensations and images projects his mind. I suspect that for now he won’t be in his right mind._

_-Are you saying that a change can turn you into a brainless beast?_

Erwin was worried. He didn’t want to be responsible for having ruined a life. The boy had tried to defend him and Erwin changed him, making him a fool in a dog skin. That would be horrible.

_-No, no! That’s not what I meant! The Raven has just reborn as werewolf, so he has to learn everything from scratch. As you see, he’s in the same form pups have when they’re not in their wolf form. He’s a half, because as you all remember from your sad childhood-_

_-Hanj, we were already friend in our childhood and you know it was not a sad one._

_-Mike, baby, that’s exactly because it was sad!_

Hanji made a strangled noise in their throat, like a wheeze, and Erwin rolled his eyes.

_-Basically, you’re saying that the hunter will act like a pup, and like a real pup he will have to learn how to shift, how to hunt, all our rules and whatnot…_

Hanji nodded.

_-Yeah. I suppose that this will be a much faster process, because he’s already learnt a lot of things that we have in common with humans, such as speaking and walking or general behavior. But all of the werewolves part will be totally new._

_-For how long he’ll be a mess?_

_-Mmh… maybe a week? Maybe more? I’m not sure, it’s such a rare occurrence, we haven’t enough information about it._

Erwin nodded at himself. Now that he knew what to expect from this big news, he felt slightly better. ‘One has to know his enemy, to fight him at his best’, used to say his father. When Mike spoke, the two blonde wolves looked at each other.

_-Looking at how the Raven clings to you, I think that the fact that you changed him, means it will be you to take care of him. Don’t misunderstand me: we all help taking care of him –I too find him surprisingly endearing, but you’ll always be the one who gave him a sort of… imprinting. This will have its weight._

Erwin thought about Mike’s words. Such a responsibility! The new wolf will be needing a lot of things, at least for the first days and Erwin would be the one to provide them. Yes, he could do it. He would do it- he owed the Raven haired hunter. Instinctively he pressed against the young boy: in his human form, he adapted perfectly to Erwin’s wolf form, completely protected by the wolf’s figure, his strong paws as a temporary pillow. The honey-blonde beast shifted his tail so that he could cover part of the human. Transforming into a werewolf gave the young hunter a higher body temperature, but the night had already come, and he was the only one without the protection of a full grown fur.

_-Was he hurt?_

_-Yes. He was severely injured st his side and throat, but since he shifted, he recovered quite quickly. I think it’s thanks to your presence, Erwin. The alpha’s presence always does that effect on his pack members. And you two practically slept curled together for three days!_

Erwin hummed in acknowledgement, lowering his head on his paws. He let himself bask for a moment into the soft murmur of his Raven’s confused thoughts and closed his eyes. He remembered the quietness of his sleep. Only Hanji could have calmed him enough to pull him out of his alpha rage and stabilize him enough to rest and enhance the Raven’s healing process. Hanji was one of a kind beta, everyone in his pack envied Erwin and his group for having their irreplaceable help.

_-Thanks, guys. I would have been lost without you._

_-You’re welcome, Commander Paws! But you owe me one, because like hell I will try and pacify your overdrive alpha again!_

_-Don’t think about it, brother. Hanj, you’re our beta. It’s your duty to keep us in check._

_-Yeah, but I’m alone and you’re like…all raging alphas or omegas in heat! I cannot keep up with you guys!_

The three wolves kept bantering until the downy dream of the Raven stole all their strength, lulling them into a quiet slumber.

* * *

 

The next time Erwin opened his eyes, he found another pair of blue-gray eyes staring back at him. The Raven hunter was awake, apparently studying his muzzle. Erwin let out a soft puff of air from his nose, sensing from the strong mind connection what the Raven wanted.

_-Hungry?_

The Raven’s black furred ears moved. He was interested in this hunger thing, so he nodded, wagging lazily his tail.

_-Then I shall go and hunt._

The big honey-blonde wolf moved to exit the cave, but the Raven didn’t seem intentioned to let him go. He tipped his head, a vague echo of confusion and fear in his mind.

_-I won’t be gone for long. I’m leaving you with Hanji and Mike. They’ll take good care of you. But rabbits won’t come flocking in our mouths of their own will, so I have to go and catch them._

The wolf moved his head towards the entrance of the little cave. He felt the Raven’s hands slid around his neck, hugging him. He didn’t know what the other was doing, rubbing his face in his fur. Erwin thought he was looking for comfort, but fortunately Hanji was stirring from their sleep.

_-He’s scent marking. He’s worried about Mike being an alpha and trying to claim his superiority on him. And he’s worried about you. So, he’s also marking you._

_-But isn’t he too young to be already presented?_

_-Yeah, we can’t know what dynamic he’ll be, but… he’s very straight forward. And has strong instincts. Everything will be alright, trust me._

Hanji yawned, pink tongue coming out from their toothy mouth.

_-Come here, Raven pup. Erwin will come back sooner, if we let him go._

Hanji called for the human, inviting him to lay beside them. The boy nuzzled some more into the soft honey-blonde fur, but eventually let go. He looked at Erwin with a piercing blue-grey gaze, no more the one of a pup, and a clear thought formed through their mind connection.

_-Hurry._

Erwin snorted and, with just the point of his tongue, licked his human’s forehead. Then he raised on his four and started towards the light out of the cave. Once in the frisky morning air, he shook the last sleepiness from himself and smelled the air.

_-I bet you’re having an easy time hunting, Commander Paws._

_-Indeed, Hanji. Why are you surprised? I’m actually a good hunter._

_-Yeah, but small animals sometimes elude you. You are too big to be fast, sometimes, alpha. But I think today you are doing better than usual, don’t you think?_

Erwin hadn’t noticed it until the beta made their sarcastic comments.

_-So you’re admitting your defects!_

_-Yeah, Hanji, thank you for always making me feel good. Specially after I just discovered I probably ruined another one’s life._

_-Aw, don’t sulk, Eyebrows! You already got three rabbits. Come back, your puppy seems impatient._

The images that came from the connection were of warmness and expectation. The three wolves were still stretched on the rocky floor of the cave. Mike was napping, while Hanji was studying the Raven’s behavior and Erwin was really eager to listen to what the beta had discovered. The quicker the Raven learnt, the fastest they could go back. They had been missing for too many days.

_-I think that if the pup’s fine, we could set out after we’ve eaten._

_-That’s good, Mike. We could be back for tomorrow evening._

_-Do you think he could shift completely?_

Erwin had kept a light jog that brought him back to the cave in a fistful of minutes. He entered with his prey between his teeth. The Raven was immediately at his side, crouching and circling his arms around him, his tail wagging happily.

_-Missed me, pup?_

Erwin snorted, smiling in his mind. Hanji rolled their eyes and Mike advanced, taking care of the rabbits.

_-Stop being such a father, Erwin._

_-Who wants to eat?_

_-Levi._

_-I hunted, I’m the leading alpha, I want to eat, thank you very much._

_-I hate when you use your dynamic to-_

The three wolves turned to look at the Raven hunter, who was grooming his ears. More like a kitten, than a werewolf, but Erwin found that irresistibly cute. Mike was the first to recover from the shock of a smooth, velvety and unexpected deep voice carried through their mind connection.

_-What did you say, kiddo?_

_-Levi. Not kiddo, not pup. I’m Levi._

Erwin blinked once, then twice: the Raven was still grooming his little black furred ears and was watching them with an annoyed expression. Hanji’s excited trembling was so strong, it was transmitted through their connection.

_-You took your sweet time, old man. I hope it was worth it._

_-You’ve got quite the foul mouth, don’t you._

Levi shrugged and just like a spoiled cat rubbed his nose against Erwin’s fur, looking through his lashes from his crouched position. Mike was looking at the scene, amused. Then Levi spoke again.

_-Well, it’s thanks to me that you were able to catch the rabbits, so._

_-Excuse me! I didn’t see you ambush the rabbits, shorty!_

Levi hissed at Erwin, but before he could reply, Hanji cut them off, suggesting to eat and then starting to head back home. Erwin was still upset by Levi’s sudden statement… he was so strange, he spoke like he knew something Erwin ignored and that didn’t sit well with the alpha. The Raven didn’t elaborate, yet kept his position beside the honey-blonde wolf, eating after him and apparently respecting his dynamic. Thank god for Hanji, however, because the beta went to his rescue again.

_-He’s sort of hitting puberty. It’s been almost five days since he changed and he’s true personality is starting to merge with his wolf part._

_-So he’s like… rebelling to his father?_

_-Oh Mike, that’s wonderful, babe! That’s exactly what it seems to me!_

_-I’m not rebelling, goggles. I’m only saying that I rubbed some alpha stink off the old man. And thanks to that, he was able to hunt easily._

Hanji was literally on her back, laughing their ass out, a disturbing ‘ahr, ahr’ resounding in the small cave. Erwin and Mike were still perplexed, but Hanji assured them that all will be alright soon enough. For now, they believed more important to teach Levi how to completely shift, so that they could return to the pack faster.

_-What about his memory? He didn’t say anything about his life before the change…_

Asked Mike, once Levi was curled against Erwin’s side for the night again. The honey-blonde wolf couldn’t refuse the human, when he approached the wolf with sleepy eyes and low ears. He yawned just like a kitten and passed his hands on the soft fur of his back, adjusting for sleep. Soon enough, the three wolves felt Levi’s soft thoughts invading the mind connection.

_-If what Hanji says is true, then I suppose he still doesn’t remember… seeing how he’s direct, he would have already confronted us on what happened. Maybe he’s regaining his consciousness bit by bit._

_-Don’t worry, brother. We’ll be there with you to show him what happened. He won’t resent you._

_-I’m not afraid of that, Mike. I only hope he won’t be a threat for the pack._

_-He won’t. I’m sure that when he present, Levi would be an irreplaceable addition to our group, Erwin. His capabilities, his conscience, the short period of time that took for him to develop… I can’t wait to see what Levi will become!_

The eyes of the beta sparkled with excitement while fixing the small human. Levi’s ears flattened instinctively against his head, sensing something through the connection. He pressed against Erwin and sighed in relief when the bigger wolf curled around him, enclosing him with his paws and tail.

He would deal with those things tomorrow. He already knew what could be done and what had to be done, the only variable being Levi’s reaction to what they were going to show him.

But for tonight only, in that small cave, lost under a black starry sky, Erwin allowed himself to forget about tomorrow and about duties. He only wanted to be washed away by the quiet waves of Lev’s mind. On the verge of sleep, he hoped this thoughts weren’t too strong to be known to his brothers, but was proved wrong when he felt Mike and Hanji smile inside the connection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter guys! I really had fun writing werewolf baby Levi and Erwin’s confusion! Hanji’s the best as always and if they didn’t exist, someone had to invent them <3 I wanted to precise two things, though: when I tagged the story as "slow build", it’s because it’s very sloooow build! Because I really like the natural feeling it gives. Second, I’m sorry if Levi is not very canon, he’s still adapting. I hope he’ll come back with all his wonderful personality asap! If you found any mistake, or if you want to ask/say something, please feel free to leave a comment, any feedback is very much appreciated!


	3. The pack – part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damn, this man embodied the concept of alpha with every inch of his rippled perfection. Even his low and rich voice snaked around any barrier Levi accurately built in his twenty-two years of being alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the beginning of this chapter we have some explanations about Dynamics... it was necessary to the story, I'm sorry if it's long, just hold on and go on reading! I'm trying to give a slightly different pov about the classic A/B/O, we'll see how it'll work.
> 
> I also wanted to thank every single one of you darlings that left kudos or comments, that means a lot to me, truly!!

Erwin was a young alpha, but when you’re a werewolf, age held less importance, since they lived longer than humans. Once they presented and their dynamic became clear, their bodies had reached maturity and stopped their growth as well as their aging process. Only once they lived three quarters of their lives, and they were mated and had offspring, the aging process resumed.

Pups learnt from their parents how to hunt and shift without hurting themselves. In fact, shifting comported a huge rearrangement of both body and mind. If a shifter wasn’t used to transform and didn’t know their own body limits, the change could be quite painful. In terms of mind change, since werewolves communicated through mind connection, as well as smells and actions, one had to be ready for the invasion of voices.

Big packs like the one Mike, Hanji and Erwin belonged to, used to divide the wolves in smaller groups, to enhance hunting and defense efficacy. That was especially useful for mind connection, since thanks to this method a wolf would be connected with at most other ten individuals.

The leader of each small group had to be an alpha, the most powerful dynamic. Alphas were strong, sturdy, had a lot of physical resistance and were naturally programmed to command. Their instinct was to attack and protect. They were loyal to their mates – once mated, werewolves were monogamous, but alphas were extremely perceptive and weak to other dynamic pheromones. Which frequently lead to brawls between alphas and coupling with lower dynamics. Not mated alphas were extremely unbalanced, hence, dangerous.

Erwin was an unmated alpha and was usually exceptional in controlling his instincts. Yet they went overdrive when he saw those hunters’ trophies. His dynamic was challenged on too many levels and he let himself respond.

Fortunately, there weren’t omegas around in that moment. In Erwin’s group there were only two of them, a male and a female, fortunately already mated. He wouldn’t have attacked them, because an alpha couldn’t hurt a weaker dynamic or force a nonconsensual intercourse- they would act against their nature, but they would always try to lure a complying beta or an omega.  Their mates could have reacted to Erwin’s pheromones and responded as much as violently.

Omegas were pups bearer. They were precious and worth protecting, for they assured the prosecution of the species. Both males and females omegas could bear children. They were usually weaker, keen to find protection behind their mates –alphas or betas. Thy had the instinct to submit, but in doing so, they lured to them every werewolf in the vicinity, thanks to their irresistible scents. Unmated omegas were hard to deal with: when they presented with their first heat, they had to be kept far away from other easily influenced dynamics. Once an omega found his mate, the heat subsided, but still occurred every three months to grant offspring.

So, amidst this hell of oversensitive pheromones dynamics, betas were the most precious and most essential kind. They created the connection between alphas and omegas minds. They could placate alphas’ rage as well as omegas’ heats. If they were strong as Hanji, they could even cancel a dynamic pheromones, covering it with their neutral and calming ones.

Among the dynamics, beta were the most respected, because totally independent. They weren’t affected by pheromones as badly as the others, and because of this someone feared them. Betas were all the right things in between alphas and omegas and it was a shame that they were so very rare.

Some betas presented like alphas, with a temper tantrum. Others presented like omegas, with a mild heat cycle. Either way, their reaction were always subsided in comparison and they were always able to maintain control over themselves. Unlikely other dynamics, that during rage or heats completely lost their conscience, becoming a shell of raw instincts.

Erwin was lucky to have Hanji in his group. They were a powerful beta.

_-Completely crazy, though, if you want my opinion._

_-Levi, were you listening to me, or were you spying on Erwin’s dirty thoughts?_

After Levi succeeded in his shifting, mastering the technique surprisingly fast, Hanji was instructing him on werewolves basilar facts. Or at least, they were trying. The black furred wolf listened with a bored expression, his blue eyes shining in contrast to his black coat, his rather long tail curled around his hind legs.

_-No dirty thoughts, goggles. Your almighty Commander is always thinking too much ahead, to give any attention on his lower half._

Erwin growled at Levi menacingly, showing his canines.

_-Pay respect, pup. I’m your alpha!_

Levi maintained his position, only his ears lowered an inch. Out of reflex, mind you, not because Erwin was trying to literally move him with the power of his pheromones.

_-Brother, that stinks._

_-Yeah, Erwin, stop emitting that terrible smell! Don’t sulk because someone’s finally rendering you your hairy ass for being an idiot not accepting a mate. They would definitely do you some good, since lately you’ve been... so moody._

_-Hanji, we are not discussing my bonding situation now._

_-Or lack thereof._

_-Levi!_

Mike was laughing, lazily licking one of his front paws, while Hanji was barking their crazy laugh. When they regained breath, they turned to the raven wolf.

_-Okay, okay. Now that I told you what you’ll find when we’ll be back to the pack, Levi, I hope you understand you have to behave. You have to respect other alphas, even if you don’t like them. At least, until your presenting. When that happens, I’m sure everything will come naturally to you, since your dynamic will speak for you._

_-…I’ll try._

_-No, you’ll do it and will not defy any wolf. You especially won’t look Pixis in the eyes, you understand?_

_-Who’s Pixis?_

_-Pixis is our pack commanding Alpha. He-_

_-Wait a moment… I thought my alpha was Erwin here. How come I got two alphas? I don’t want two stinking alphas, one is more than enough!_

_-I’m an alpha too, you know?_

_-Yes, I know, Mike. But you’re not an asshole._

_-That’s because I’m mated. Thank you, by the way. I suppose._

Erwin was to tell Levi off, but the black wolf strutted towards the honey-blonde alpha, reclaiming his place at his side. He rubbed his forehead against Erwin’s shoulder and looked at him, shaking his head.

_-When I’ll present, will I have to change alpha again? I don’t want another alpha, you’re enough for me._

_-Aww, look at them Mike, look at them! They’re soo sweet! And Erwin isn’t chewing his head off for insulting him, that’s a first!_

_-Hanj, stop jumping around and clear the kid’s head. I think Erwin’s cogs finally broke. Please, do something._

_-Okay, babe, if you say so! No one knows your brother better than you. So, ehm..Levi?_

_-What?_

_-We don’t know when you will present, but that won’t change anything. Erwin will always be the alpha of our group, but Pixis is the commanding Alpha of the whole pack. All wolves in the pack have to obey him… he’s like… the chief of a village. You may not like him, but you ought to respect his decisions._

Levi seemed to ponder Hanji’s words, then nodded slowly. He understood authority and he knew that often that trait didn’t come in worthy people. But if Erwin obeyed that Pixis guy, maybe he wasn’t so bad. And maybe Erwin would be able to pass only smart orders. He just seemed the type to reinterpret things at his own advantage.

_-Wow, brother. And he has known you for a week. Imagine what will happen in a few years… he’ll be able to read you like an open book._

_-I’ll fear that moment, Mike. I really do. But for now, it’s enough that this unruly child will listen to us._

Erwin looked at Levi, who passed his pink tongue on his muzzle, unfazed.

_-I will take orders from you. If you think something this Alpha says is good, then I’ll do it. But don’t expect anything else from me. My alpha is you._

_-That’s enough, for now, you thug._

Erwin sighed and lapped again at Levi’s forehead, an act of intimacy and playfulness he never believed he could be capable of. Not so instinctively, at least.

_-So, are we ready to go back?_

Hanji was sniffing the air, their ears straining for any sign of danger.

_-We’re ready, Hanj. Kiddo, follow the alpha and listen to everything he and Hanji tell you. Understand? I’ll close the formation._

Levi nodded to Mike and positioned himself behind Erwin and beside the beta. Mike stood a few feet beside the black wolf: he would have preferred staying besides his mate, but that would leave the newbie’s flank open. With a low noise, Erwin moved and the other three wolves followed.

After a few hours, Levi found that nothing in his life compared to running through the Forest. He let the humid air fill his lungs, the feeling of the blood pumping in his legs, the only sound around him the one made by their powerful paws on the musky ground. It was exhilarating. He didn’t feel like a lost creature anymore, he was part of the life of the Forest. Before, he could only have imagined this. Before… before, what?

_-Let’s stop for a bit._

_-Yeah, well thank you, Commander Stamina, we’re not horses and not all of us are alphas!_

_-There’s a clearing to the right._

_-How long till your pack?_

_-We’re almost there. Maybe a couple of hours at this pace, more if we slow down a bit._

Erwin and Mike made a quick check of the clear, to exclude the possibility of intruding in other packs’ territory. Once they decided the place was safe, each wolf chose a place to rest. Hanji rolled in the grass, stretching their back, while Mike found interesting to smell at an old trunk. Erwin yawned, opening wide his huge mouth and crouched in the soft grass under a pine. Levi stretched his forelegs, shook his shoulders and joined Erwin under the big ass tree. The black wolf placed himself beside the honey-blond alpha, not an inch between them. Erwin’s confusion increased.

The black wolf didn’t remember clearly what happened before the change, but it was clear that he was regaining his personality and a lot of his original mindset with the passing of time. Levi’s body was still amusingly small, resembling a ten years old boy in his human form, but since they woke up he already gained a few inches. His guise was ridiculously cute, despite his abrasive personality that resembled his adult demeanor already. Erwin wouldn’t admit it, but he feared the moment Levi would recover his full memory…he feared that the black wolf would resent him. And so, Erwin tried to keep these thoughts as vague as possible, to prevent them to flow to his comrades through the connection.

_-Why do you always do that?_

_-Always do what?_

_-You always sit with me. You’re not my pup, you know that, don’t you._

_-You hate it?_

_-…No. but I want to know if there’s a reason for that._

_-I don’t know. I feel better if I stay with you, so if it doesn’t bother you, then it’s ok._

_-It’s okay until Erwin doesn’t find a mate._

_-Hanji, not again… and it’s safer to say “if” I find a mate._

_-He has to know, Erwin! Better sooner than later. Listen, Levi: when, if, whatever Erwin wants, will find a mate, you will no longer be the one to catalyze all of his attention. You understand that, don’t you? He will have to put his mate before you._

Levi looked at Hanji, his eyebrows knitted together. He didn’t understand shit. Why wouldn’t he be able to stand beside the alpha? Erwin was his alpha, he was the one that awoke him! He was the first thing he felt when he opened again his eyes! Erwin had to take responsibility… and yet Levi felt that the honey-blonde wolf wasn’t completely trusting him. There was something that prevented that, something that Levi maybe had forgotten… Levi was looking straight into Erwin’s eyes, now. The latter shivered and, before abruptly standing, lapped again the black wolf’s forehead.

_-Let’s go, we’ve rested enough._

_-Nooo, I don’t wanna! I wanna stay here for a while longer!_

_-Hanj, don’t throw a tantrum. Once we arrive, we’ll go to Pixis. Erwin, you can take care of Levi. I don’t think it would be wise let them speak face to face right now. Let’s wait a bit so that Levi will be a little more comfortable around other wolves._

Erwin nodded at Mike’s suggestion and started to run again, followed by his two brothers and the mysterious black wolf.

When they finally arrived to the pack, Levi was positively surprised: he had the dark omen that he would have to live in a filthy cave like the one he awoke in, but he sighed in relief when he saw wolves roaming in a normal human-like village. Maybe a little more rustic then his old village, but he saw huts and decent cabins.

Now that he thought about it… they had to be pretty far from Shiganshina village. Levi wondered how far. There was a heavy veil draped over his memory, clouding his mind and preventing him to recall what the hell he was doing before he awoke in that goddamned cave. He shook his head in vain. Oh, well, he would remember eventually. But he snorted annoyed, he didn’t like the empty sensation that missing memories left in him.

He was distracted by the increasing wolves they were meeting, both in their human and animal form. Hanji and Mike barked a goodbye and took a different direction, the pressure of their minds slowly fading through the connection. Levi kept on following Erwin through the dusty trails that crossed the village.

_-Where are they going?_

_-They’re going to see Pixis and update him about our journey and.. about you. I hope there won’t be any problem about your stay._

_-There could be?_

_-With your fast adaptation? I don’t think. I’m actually quite eager to show old man Pixis what you’re able to do. I’m sure he will be happy to welcome your strength in our pack. Ah, we’re arrived. That’s my home. You’ll stay with me for the time being._

Levi had noticed people greeting Erwin along the streets: they all seemed fond of the young alpha, it was clear that they all respected him. And some had tried to ask who the black wolf was, or tried to stretch against his and Erwin’s mind connection to catch some hints about his identity or relationship, but like hell did Levi let them pass. He rejected all of them with force, building an impenetrable wall around his alpha and him. Erwin didn’t even seem to notice it. All the better.

_-You live here alone?_

_-I’ve been until now, yes._

Erwin chuckled, pushing with his muzzle the wooden door of a small cabin. It was sheltered by a small group of pines, a little far from the main trail that lead to the center of the wolves’ village. A simple fence  rounded the small backyard, such a contrast with all the wild nature of the Forest they were surrounded by. The inside of Erwin’s home was simple: the door opened on a bright living room, with an old couch in front of a fireplace, a small kitchenette in a corner with a table and a couple of chairs. From his position Levi could see two other doors.

“On the left there’s my bedroom, the right door leads to the bathroom.” Said Erwin.

Levi almost got whiplash, because of the speed which he turned his head with. Before his eyes, stood a tall man. A mountain of a man. Okay, Levi was still on his four, but Erwin’s human form was huge! The black wolf blinked once, taking in the alpha’s features: his hair was the same honey-blonde color of his fur, longer on the top of his head and shorter on the neck. His chest was wide, the skin stretched over surprisingly toned and strong muscles. Luckily Levi was still covered in black fur, so the girly blush that spread on his face went unnoticed.

Damn, this man embodied the concept of alpha with every inch of his rippled perfection. Even his low and rich voice snaked around any barrier Levi accurately built in his twenty-two years of being alive.

“I cannot hear your thoughts anymore, you know? If you don’t change back, we cannot speak.” chuckled Erwin that, thanks to every known god, was already wearing a pair of trousers. Probably he kept a pair near the entrance just in case. Erwin sniffed the air.

“And I’m not even able to tell what kind of mood you’re in, since you don’t seem to emit any kind of smell…” at this, the blond god knitted his impressive eyebrows, in thought. At that, Levi barked amused, finally catching on every joke Hanji made about Commander Eyebrows and whatnot.

The blonde man rolled his eyes “Now you seem to be chocking…Come, I’ll give you a change of clothes.” Levi followed Erwin, that opened the bathroom door “There’s a pump in the bathtub. The water it’s cold, since I was gone for long, but the next time we can have a warm bath.” Erwin half smiled to Levi, that was shamelessly wagging his tail in happiness at the idea of a bath. “I’ll leave here a towel and the clothes. When you’re ready, we can eat something and then decide what to do.”

Levi nodded and once alone, changed back. It was still slightly painful, mostly when he had to concentrate on his tail, but the bath was worth it. The moment he returned to his human form, he felt grim all over his skin. With his hair still damp, he dressed with Erwin’s spare clothes and joined the alpha in the living room.

“I prepared something simple to eat, if you’re hungry.” Levi noticed a steaming cup of tea and a simple dish made of bread and dried meat. He seated in one of the chairs and started to eat, noticing in that very moment how famished he was.

“I’ll go see Pixis, tomorrow.” said Erwin while washing the dishes in the sink “I’ll explain our condition but I think he’s going to ask to speak directly with you. Would that be okay?”

Levi shrugged, not knowing what that could imply “I think so.”

“Then I’ll ask Hanji to take you around and meet the other. It would also be good if you begin to know the neighborhood.”

“That’s fine by me. I’ll go with your crazy friend, but if they cross the line, I’ll come back here.”

Erwin nodded, drying his hands “You’re free to come and go as you like. For now, I think it’s time to rest on a real bed, we’ve been through a lot, lately.”

“Yeah, that would be a nice change.” Agreed Levi, ready to follow the alpha to the bedroom.

“Ehm…” Erwin hesitated, looking at the old couch “Maybe it’s better if one of us take the couch.”

Levi furrowed his brow. Again with this story. Erwin said that their proximity didn’t bother him, but evidently, there was some correct wolf behavior that Levi ignored, that said it was better to put some distance between them… what were they? Brothers? Not so much. Friends? Not even close, much less mates. All Levi knew, was that Erwin was responsible for him. So, he agreed to the solution, remembering that as the one imposing, it would have been nice of him to take the couch.

“I’ll leave you to your bed. Just give me a clean blanket.” Sighed the raven, adjusting the too long sleeves of the shirt. He was still confined in a small body –okay, smaller than his normal one, but he was already able to shift completely, so he was no longer humiliated with cute furred ears and tail. Even if the half-form shifting was a good compromise: it was quicker to shift to both forms since it was a hybrid, it enhanced his senses but not like the ones of his wolf and he allowed Levi to maintain his thoughts to himself. Hanji had praised him for the control he demonstrated over his transformation.

When Erwin came back from his bedroom with the blanket and a pillow for Levi, he bid the raven goodnight “Feel free to use anything you may need. And call me, if there are problems.”

“Yeah, like I risk to be attacked by a wolf.” Grinned Levi “ ’night.” And finally he lied down the couch. At least it was comfortable. Erwin had left him the stub of a candle just in case and took away his own, that glowed for a little longer before Levi heard the door of the bedroom close. He sighed and rolled under the cover, looking for the right position.

When Levi closed his eyes, for the first time he felt _alone_. He didn’t feel anymore the constant flow of soothing thoughts coming from Mike. Hanji’s mind was messy and lively, while Erwin’s was deep and seemingly calm, but always moving, like the sea. And if the alpha was focused on a particular thought, one could sink inside it and get lost. Just like his eyes, so very blue, so piercing. Or his deep voice, that caressed Levi’s ears for the first time just a few hours prior, but his wolf already seemed to know it.

Levi fell asleep wondering how much of his humanity remained after he found out he was a werewolf. He still felt dizzy, because his mind was clearing bit by bit: he remembered more about himself and about not being a furred beast. But his new instincts were strong, he felt this pull towards the honey-blonde alpha that he recognized to be his own wolf’s doing. It was natural, just like breathing, or eating, or grooming his ears and howling to the full moon.

Just like raising from the couch with his pillow under his arm and directing his light steps towards Erwin’s bedroom a few hours later. That night, sleep didn’t come easy to Levi, it was useless to keep ignoring the problem. So he opened the door and stepped inside the room: it was simply furnished, with only a desk and a chair and a small wardrobe, other than the nightstand and the bed, large enough for Erwin to lie sprawled on it.

The raven rubbed his sleepy eyes and reached the bed. He put his pillow next to the blonde’s and crawled under the warm and welcoming blankets. Levi inhaled deeply the alpha’s soothing scent, and snuggled against Erwin’s side –who didn’t even flinched. He was out cold in an instant.


	4. The Pack - part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi shrugged, leaning into Erwin’s touch “I’m fine, it’s only a scratch.” He whispered and when Erwin bent to lick the raven’s cheek to fasten the healing process, Levi fucking purred.  
> The black wolf’s first instinct was to freak out, cut that sinful tongue and shove it up the blonde’s ass. Instead he closed his eyes, relishing into his alpha’s protectiveness.  
> He buried his nose into the blonde’s shirt, so full of his strong scent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, sorry it took so long! :(  
> life happened.  
> Thanks sooo much to all of you darlings who left comments and kudos (wow, almost 100, who could imagine? Certanly not me!)  
> But go on reading, don't mind my ramblings!

The first morning back to the pack, Erwin found Levi in his bed and that had the alpha jumping and screaming like a virgin maiden, spouting some nonsense about how Levi was lucky to not have any sort of smell.

Levi didn’t feel deterred at all, his wolf liked to wake up snuggled to Erwin’s side, or if he was super lucky, sprawled on his broad chest like it happened in the Forests. He liked the feeling of belonging it gave him. Levi opened his eyes and the first thing he saw, was the honey-blonde alpha, with his mouth slightly open and his usually perfect hair unruffled on the pillow. Levi secretly liked how he was able to see this part of the otherwise flawless alpha.

That morning, the light outside was dulled from grey clouds, the falling leaves gradually changing their green colors into bright reds and yellows and warm browns. The raven felt sleepy even if he just woke up. He yawned, realizing that his head was resting on Erwin’s shoulder, one of his arm thrown over the other’s chiseled chest – _yeah, under an unassuming gray shirt, Levi was still able to discern that impressive six-maybe-eight pack_.

The raven basked in the warm closeness and raised his head to look at Erwin’s face. His nose brushed against the alpha’s gland and -oh! What a heady scent! Levi had never smelled anything as good as that, it was rich with promise of nest, protection, desire and loyalty! What was that?

Levi propped on the elbow that rested over the mattress, his other hand roaming over the blonde’s chest, up, till it was directly over his heart. When Levi leaned in to have better access to the delicious scent, he felt Erwin’s pulse accelerate. The alpha hummed and shifted in his sleep, in response to the attentions.

What really woke Erwin up, was the purring sound right beside his right ear. He blinked owlishly, not totally able to realize the situation he was in. All the alpha knew, was that he wasn’t injured, there were no threats in the immediate vicinity, he was warm and safe in his home. The soft weight he felt over his chest was really welcomed, too. He never knew he missed such a contact until he instinctively pulled the source of the purring closer.

Levi yelped, not expecting the action. That ended the magic bubble that surrounded them: Erwin realized he was emitting a strong luring smell without even knowing it, and only because of the proximity of another living being! “What the hell-!” the blonde exclaimed, pushing away from Levi and almost falling from the bed. That was going out of control, the black wolf didn’t have any sort of smell that could justify such a reaction from the alpha!

Hanji and Mike would never let him live if they knew about this. Maybe he _truly_ needed a mate if he was so responding to other wolves…well, technically, to Levi alone. Thee black wolf was the only one who dared to approach him in such a careless way.

Levi sat on the bed looking disappointed, his furry ears reclined to the front and his black tail darting anxiously behind him. Even if he was able to shift completely and almost without any pain, he still liked to maintain the hybrid form when they were in the privacy of Erwin’s home. The alpha thought he liked the state of enhanced senses it gave him.

“What the hell are you doing?” asked the raven, perplexed.

“I- you!” stuttered Erwin “What do you think _you_ ’re doing?! What come onto you?”

Levi shrugged “I didn’t do anything. One moment I was sleeping and the next you were going nuts.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Sighed Erwin. He passed his hands over his face, like he was going to wash it. “You cannot… you can’t _smell_ someone like that and think to go back to sleep peacefully! You cannot _purr_ that way either, for fuck sake!” at this point Erwin was shouting.

“Oi, calm down!” Levi tried to sooth the alpha.

“I am calm!” the blonde was panting hard.

Levi’s eyebrows knitted together, his back went stiff and he hissed through his teeth “The fuck, you’re as crazy as Hanji when they’re in withdrawal! If you don’t tell me what got your panties twisted, I’m never going to understand! Fuck, I’m barely a passing excuse of a human, how can you think I could be a decent wolf?!”

Erwin could see the little trembles that shook Levi’s small figure. But the raven’s eyes were firm. He was trying, hard. So the alpha swallowed every doubt and resistance he had and sat closer to the small wolf. He had to explain everything to him, at least until Hanji took over!

“Very well.” Erwin didn’t know where to begin. “As you know, we all have this particular smell… pheromones, that-“

“But I don’t.” Said Levi confidently, scooting closer to the alpha, leaning on his hands to balance his weight, since he was on his four. “Not, yet, at least.” He was wearing one of Erwin’s white shirts. It was too big and the sleeves kept on falling on his pale hands. Erwin prayed with all his might that the collar of the shirt stayed where it was: he didn’t know if he could stand the sight of a pale shoulder _-okay, okay, stop. Back to the main topic._

“Yes, you’re right, but let me explain. Wolves are creatures of actions. Smells tell a lot about us, about our feelings and problems. Pheromones are the first thing that help us approach another wolf: they tell us if they’re friend or foe. Do you understand? Good. Now, different smells have different meanings.”

Levi snorted “I know. Go on and tell me what I did wrong.” He was getting impatient, he really didn’t understand Erwin’s reaction.

The alpha spoke again. “You are in my den, Levi. If you were a definite dynamic, you couldn’t stay here unless you were family. That’s to say: my son, or my mate. Mostly, my mate, because when a pups presents, they look for a mate and leave the parental home. A den can have only an alpha. If you turn out to be an alpha like me, you’ll have to find your own home.” Erwin smiled at the thought: Levi would be an awesome alpha. One of a kind, maybe, for his proportions, but he totally had the right attributes. If he revealed to be an omega… Erwin repressed a shiver. That could be a wreck: with the power of Levi’s natural alluring presence, they would have to find him a mate in a matter of hours! Otherwise at his first heat, all the unmated alphas of the pack would charge and try to mate him. Like Erwin would actually allow that!

“But I-“

“Don’t worry about this now.” Erwin pacified him, patting upon Levi’s head, carefully avoiding his ears “We’ll think this out when the time comes. But for now, you have to avoid behaving like you’re trying… to find a mate.”

Levi looked at him, confused. Erwin groaned: he felt like a father doing The Talk with his adolescent son. “You can’t sniff another wolf’s scent gland. You can’t rub yourself over another wolf, because his smell would _cling_ to you, marking you as _his_ and vice versa. You can do all of this only if you’re mates! Do you understand now?”

Levi went still. He metabolized the words and his eyes widened, his furred ears flattened against his skull and his cheeks colored with a faint red. “W-why didn’t you tell me sooner?! Oh my god, oh my-why nobody told me any of this?!” the raven backed away from the alpha’s touch.

Erwin rolled his eyes, but he was relieved the raven got his point “Now, you’re being overdramatic, Levi.”

“Fuck off, I don’t want to pass for a slut!” he hissed.

“You’re physically still growing and you still haven’t presented. Until you’re clingy only at home, it will all be alright. Breath and calm down. Anyway, we all know your case, so nobody would ever dare to call you that. We very well know that sometimes the wolf part takes the upper hand.”

They left Erwin’s house after a hour, the blonde alpha directed to speak with the Commanding Alpha and Levi, to Mike and Hanji’s house. Erwin had given him the directions and soon Levi found himself knocking to the door of a wooden cabin near the center of the village.

If Levi thought Erwin was tall, the blonde man that opened the door was definitely _huge_. Mike’s hair fell over his forehead in the same way his fur did, and even the slightly amused smirk that curved his lips could be identified in the expression of his muzzle.

“Hello, scentless one.” Said Mike, sniffing the air “How are you? And why did my brother let you go around alone?” the man stepped aside, gesturing Levi to go inside.

“Ehy, Mike.” Greeted the raven “Your asshole of a brother had to go and lick Pixis’ ass, so he told me to come here so you and your crazy mate can babysit me.” He entered the hut, that had a similar arrangement to Erwin’s one…but this one had more furniture, with full bookshelves, curtains and pillows over the couch and Hanji’s notes scattered everywhere. It was more lived, more of a _home_. Not just a place to return to and sleep away the lonely nights. Levi was determined to end the unhealthy bachelor life style of Erwin. If the honey-blonde alpha thought the raven hadn’t noticed how filthy the house was only because of him turning into a fucking werewolf…Ah! That bastard Adonis didn’t know anything about Levi!

Levi’s reverie about the ten-thousands-ways-in-which-he-would-clean-Erwin’s-cabin was interrupted by an annoying sound. “Let me guess who’s the sweetie with the foul mouth!” Called a high pitched voice from another room. Soon enough, Hanji run towards Levi with their arms extended, and in a moment the beta was crushing Levi in a bear hug. “Oh my goodness, you’re exactly how I imagined! The tiniest of the wolves! You sure you’re not a kitten?”

“Cannot…breath…”wheezed Levi, buried in the manic beta’s arms. He tried to pull away and at the same time clawing them with no success.

“Hanj, darling, I think you’re suffocating him. Erwin would be pissed if we killed his baby.” Said Mike matter-of-factly.

“Oh-ahaha sorry, sorry!” Hanji let the raven go, so he could finally breath again. He raised his head and studied the couple: it was the first time they meet in their human appearances, but even Hanji resembled their wolf form. And what was ironic, was that they were wearing glasses! So, the round lighter spots around the fur of their eyes were not only a funny characteristic of their wolf form, realized Levi. The beta had brownish hair tied in a messy ponytail, had lively chocolate eyes and was quite tall. _Tch, every-fucking-one seemed to be tall in that damned pack._

“Well, follow us, Levi! Come and meet your future comrades!” And so the raven was pulled by Hanji towards a larger building in the very center of the village, where they told him Pixis lived and all the activities regarding the government of the pack took place.

“Erwin’s probably speaking to the Alpha in one of those rooms. When they’re finished, he will join us.” Explained Mike. ”When he’s absent, I take the command during our missions. And this…” the huge alpha opened the door of what seemed to be a training field, with obstacles and racks full of different weapons “Is where we train before our missions outside the security of pack territory.”

Levi was really awed by all the organization and planning these wolves did. He almost expected to have to deal with savages! He looked excitedly at all the weapons he could learn to use… finally he had something to look forward to! He hated wasting time lazing around and certainly he didn’t want to lay sprawled over Erwin’s bed, wrapped around the alpha. Under worm covers. With the calming scent of his blond asshole all around him… _Okay, no. He was a fucking werewolf, dammit, not a lapdog!_ Levi grunted and when he set his eyes to the center of the training field, he realized there were people, quietly chatting while stretching, someone on the ground, others standing.

“Levi …” said Hanji, bouncing in front of him and extending an arm towards the group of four –three males and a female “…meet the rest of Erwin’s special operation squad!”

* * *

 

“So, where is he?”

“He’s staying with me.” Erwin’s rich and calm voice was the only sound inside the principal room where Pixis usually held his important meetings. The room was spacious and richly furnished, with carpets and tapestries. One of the walls was entirely occupied by the biggest fireplace of the entire village, emanating a comforting orange light.

“Mh… but where is he now? Can we trust him around the pack?” Asked an old beta at Pixis’ left.

“Yes, you can rest assured he’s constantly watched by my squad. They’re seeing him around, making him comfortable and will report to me about his progresses and reactions to the new environment.” Replied Erwin. He hoped this would be enough to gain them some time: he needed to prepare Levi to confront the Council. They could decide over his stay and Erwin didn’t like the idea of having to abandon his black wolf. Only because this stupid herd of old dogs was too blinded by traditions and ancient beliefs to see what they could gain adding Levi to their lines… ah, if only they felt the power of the raven’s mind! It was a promise of what he would be able to do once presented!

“So farsighted of you, Smith, as always.” Spoke again the same beta.

He tried to ignore the edge in the last statement. The honey-blonde alpha stood stiffly in front of a long wooden table, where seated the Olders of the pack and Pixis himself at the center, in a slightly higher chair, richly carved. The Commanding Alpha was an old bald man, with white mustaches that usually hid a knowing smirk. Despite his age, the man possessed one of the liveliest intellect Erwin knew, mirrored in his intelligent stare. At the moment, said man was weighing everything Erwin said: the reconnaissance, the meeting with the Inner Lands hunters and the fateful change of one of those hunters.

“Well…” said Pixis “That’s very interesting. I have never seen a changed wolf since I became the Alpha of this pack.” He laughed, uncorking his private flask of imported liquor, the only vice Pixis had. “And let me tell you, that’s really a long time!” he drank and dried his mustaches with the back of his hand “I can’t wait to meet your youngling, Smith. And if you deem him trustful and a good asset for our pack, we can only be happy. Every success he will accomplish, will be ultimately ascribed to you.” Suddenly, Pixis’ warm smile hid a hard expression “Just as any mistake, or disrespect of our rules, shall be.”

Erwin kept looking straight in the Alpha’s eyes. He already knew all this, obviously. He was the one who changed Levi, so he held the raven’s every responsibility. Luckily, Levi seemed to be smitten with the young alpha. Erwin could only hope that this won’t change after his raven remembered everything.

“I understand, sir.” Erwin replied with a clear voice, his back straight and head held high.

Pixis studied the younger alpha, his hands intertwined in front of his mouth. Very few alphas dared to look him in the eye and the old Alpha knew that Erwin was very capable. Not only of strength and hard decisions, but he was also smart as no one else. Ultimately, that alpha was a danger to Pixis’ authority.

“And this fact bring us to another decision, Smith. As the Olders used to say, an alpha with the capability of successfully turn a human into a werewolf, has the capability of a true Commanding Alpha. I’m very impressed.” The statement weighed between them for long seconds. Both the alphas knew the implications: Erwin was a powerful alpha. Not just any alpha, but an Alpha. He could righteously challenge Pixis. He could claim the pack. And he was younger than the current Commanding Alpha, he was physically advantaged. Erwin’s squad would obviously follow him –and they were the best fighters, but the rest of the pack would obey Pixis’ orders… their little brawl could lead to the extermination of the whole pack.

Erwin held his breath, controlling perfectly his pheromones, preventing them to react to the implicit threat of the other Alpha. He expected this. For a long time he had proven worthy of Pixis’ trust and respect, but that was just before he became a thing the Alpha couldn’t control.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll return to my squad. We got a lot to work on.” Erwin bowed his head just the right amount to not result disrespectful, but didn’t lower his gaze in submission. If Pixis wanted to kick him out of the pack, the young alpha had all the intentions to let him know that he’d leave first. Erwin didn’t wait for the official dismissal, but as he turned to the door, Pixis spoke again.

“I’ll wait your update about the new wolf, Smith. Don’t make me wait outta your door!” and the Alpha laughed. _Don’t make me come to find you,_ it said _._ Erwin nodded curtly, his mind already launched forward, considering things, weighing options, making plans.

* * *

 

Levi ducked and his momentum spun him into a low kick, that effectively made Auruo fell on his ass. The raven quickly recoiled, as the alpha growled at him and launched to attack again.

Levi could feel the thickness of his pheromones in the air, but for some strange reason, the only thing he felt was a little out of breath. But maybe it was because of the third round of hand-to-hand combat that he underwent that afternoon. Before it was Erd: he was technically good but it was too easy to predict his moves. Then Mike: ah, In that one Levi thought he couldn’t do it. The man was huge and incredibly strong, his long limbs had been quite a challenge for the short raven, but Levi was quicker and with the enhanced senses and the strength that came with his new condition, he was able to hit Mike in all the right spots. Now, it was Auruo’s turn and he was rapidly crumbling, too lost in his dynamic pride to consider what the actual fuck he could do to defeat the smaller opponent. They were all alphas.

They all lost to Levi.

He was small and deadly, and certainly knew his way around fights, but what really put him on advantage was that he didn’t fight like a wolf. He didn’t possess the strong instincts of his opponents, that tried to read his body language as well as his scent. _Tch, Levi didn’t have a fucking scent, thank you very much._

Levi fought as a human against beasts ready to devour him. He was precise and focused, foreign to this whirling hormonal storm that clouded his opponents’ minds. That was just training, _not some twisted werewolf way to measure one’s dick length, for fuck’s sake!_ Levi clicked his tongue. Auruo’s moves were getting predictable: he was too angry to think rationally, too absorbed in this useless battle of dominance.

So Levi used the same move that he used few minutes before: when Auruo’s arm scraped his cheek – _yes, taller opponents meant longer limbs, thank you_ not _, Mother Nature!_ , the raven crouched, put his hands on the ground and with his right leg kicked the alpha’s left knee like his life depended on it. And that was partially true. Levi could be a pheromone moron, but he understood the blinding rage of being beaten by an undefined dynamic-newbie-midget. He grinned to himself at the sickly _crack_ coming from Auruo’s knee.

“Too fucking lost in your alpha rage to notice that I knocked you down with the same move twice? In a row?” asked the raven, clapping away the dust from his hands and watching as the alpha held on his presumably broken knee. Auruo showed his teeth and growled, a low sound coming from his throat.

Levi responded with the same expression and a growl that wasn’t, alas, as intimidating.

“You little stinking flea-“

“Now, now, Auruo!” cut him off Hanji, jumping all around as excited as ever “That was amazing! All those twirling and jumping and lashing out hits that I could barely see because you’re too fast for your own good…! Man, you’re a little box of surprises!” they cooed, trying to pat the raven’s head.

“Shut up, you crazy glasses!” hissed Levi swatting away the hand of the beta.

“Well, for a pup, he definitely knows what he’s doing!” exclaimed Gunther, arms wrapped around his mate, still comforting him after the sore loss. Mike was silent, his expression grim: he admirably tried to take the result of his fight lightly, but he still didn’t understand _how_ a minion like Levi ha defeated them.

“Hanji, I think it’s time you do your work here...” said Petra with a half-smile, kneeling next to her alpha “This moron’d surely heal faster if his stupid brain wouldn’t be so occupied with thought about Levi’s murder.” Gunther snorted amused, Mike’s lips curled upwords.

“Of course, I’m here for you, babies!” and saying so, Hanji released their calming scent: Erd and Mike visibly relaxed, Erd sagging against Gunther, finally at peace. To Levi, it seemed like the air was finally breathable again…before it felt too stuffed, like an old basement which no-one ever entered. Auruo was already sitting and moving tentatively his leg.

“I swear I’ll claw your throat tonight!” he was still growling in Levi’s direction.

The raven rolled his eyes and swatted again Hanji, that kept prodding at his arms trying to understand how he could have beaten three alphas if he hadn’t still presented. “Try it, ugly. You’ll have to pass through Erwin, though.”

For a moment, Auruo and Petra looked at him “What?! What the hell does it mean?”

Hanji, still pawing at Levi, replied absentmindedly “He lives with Erwin, obviously. And probably sleeps in his bed, too. You’re very strong for being so small, I think you’ll turn out to be an alpha-”

“He sleeps with the almighty Commander?” Erd was laughing really hard, while Gunther kept shaking his head whispering that was not possible.

“It would be really interesting if he turned out to be an alpha!” said Mike, nodding. “But I think Erwin would cry for a month.”

“Shut up, all of you. I can do what I want at home, being it eating in the bathtub or sleeping with Commander Wig.” Snarled Levi, the sound not really menacing. It was more like a loud mewl. He was happy his body was recovering (he hoped he could gain some more inches), but his wolf didn’t seem to grow as quickly. He still didn’t know what dynamic he would be.

“What’s all this rackus about?” said the voice that was the last sound Levi heard every night. He turned his head just to see Erwin walking towards them. His bearing was fierce and composed as always, but his light blue eyes weren’t as lively as they were that morning when he had shouted at the raven. Levi’s eyebrows knitted together and he jogged to meet Erwin halfway.

Erwin stopped, arching one of his massive brows. “What have you done? You’re sweaty and you seem tired-“

“What happened?” Levi studied his alpha’s face for a second before closing the already short distance between them. He looked up to the blonde, who didn’t reply to his question. “We sparred, nothing to worry about. Hanji was there and they made sure we didn’t go too far in fighting. I’ve beaten your alphas and now I want to go home, bathe, and go straight to bed.”

Erwin’s mind stumbled upon all those information: Levi sparred with his squad – _what the fuck was Mike thinking? He knew Hanji didn’t have much –if any, common sense, but Levi was his pup! Why did his brother let him confront three alphas?!_ But most importantly…

“You beat them? Every one of them?” asked the blonde, aghast. He unconsciously pulled the raven to him, running his hands over his torso and his back, his slender neck, his still small shoulders making sure he was fine. Finally he took his chin into one of his big hands, then let it slide it to his cheek, just where Auruo scraped the white skin. The taller man run his thumb under the offensive cut with feather light touch ”Who hurt you?” Erwin growled, instincts telling him to go find who dared touch his Levi.

Levi shrugged, turning slightly his head to lean into Erwin’s touch “I’m fine, it’s only a scratch.” He whispered and when Erwin bent to lick the raven’s cheek to fasten the healing process, Levi fucking _purred_. The black wolf’s first instinct was to freak out, cut that sinful tongue and shove it up the blonde’s ass. Instead his body decided for him, making him close his eyes, relishing into his alpha’s protectiveness. He buried his nose into the blonde’s shirt, so full of his strong scent.

“Get a room, you two!” howled Hanji, their eyes as big as saucers. Mike was laughing his booming laugh, not believing the scene before his eyes. “Oh my, he’s already noosed!”

Petra and Gunther pinched their noses because of the heavy pheromones Erwin released “Ew, Commander! Tone it down, wouldn’t you!” said the strawberry-blonde haired woman.

The blonde alpha licked Levi’s cheek clean, trailing his mouth over the smooth skin. He didn’t want to see any sign done by others upon his raven and when he heard the commotion made by his comrades, he growled low in his chest. Who dared interrupt him while he tended to his Levi? Didn’t they know how to mind their own business?

Levi’s body was strangely calm when he perceived his alpha’s mouth and tongue upon him, but his mind was internally screaming. Usually he would have already chewed the tall alpha’s head off,  but the action felt so right, so wanted! His instincts expected that, and in his stupor he couldn’t help but let Erwin do as he pleased. Only when his brain connected with reality again – all too soon, he realized that Erwin was growling to the wolves to keep them away from him. The sound came up from the alpha’s chest, Levi could perceive its rumbling through Erwin’s skin. And he could hear the angry words that the alpha directed towards his friends. Levi rolled his eyes and smacked Erwin’s arm, snarling.

“Oi, old man, restrain your horses. What did the Pixis guy said? You’re obviously upset about something, so spill it, or I swear to everything Hanji loves, I’ll beat it out of you.” A chorus made of Hanji’s and Mike’s voices raised.

“Ehy, you evil kitten, watch your tongue and leave my mate out of this!” hissed the beta, but they were smirking, already used to not take Levi’s words seriously. The scene they just witnessed would be enough to tease Erwin for the next two years.

“Erwin, what happened with Pixis? Is there any problem?” asked Mike, nearing his brother.

Erwin shook his head, clearing his mind. He froze when he realized what had he done, such a shameful act… Why couldn’t he leave Levi alone? Why did he feel the need to wrap him into his arms and keep him safe? Why did he- for now all this questions had to wait, there were more important things to discuss than his strange behavior around the small black wolf.

And so Erwin told his squad everything about his meeting with the Commanding Alpha. He told them what lied underneath Pixis’ wary smiles: the old Alpha would be watching them, he’d be double checking their work as scouts and be extra careful that no one would even thought of disobeying his orders. Otherwise, the fault would fall upon Levi as scapegoat, and Erwin as his person in charge.

“What? He can’t do that!”

“How is it possible? We’ve always done everything he asked of us!”

“That greedy stale sack of fur, I thought better of him!”

Obviously Erd, Auruo and Mike growled, upset by the not-so-indirect threat against them. Hanji had to intervene grabbing Mike’s arm and releasing some kind of calming scent, because Levi noticed that the three wolves relaxed almost immediately, purpose back in their eyes, their mind freed from their clouding anger. Levi would have to reconsider all this pheromone thing, because, wow, it worked pretty well.

“Stop whining like big ass children, all of you.” Said Levi, crossing his arms over his chest. “You only have to do as you always do and not fuck up.”

Petra burst into laugh “Ahahah! Yes, well… I suppose you can say that’s all we have to do, but I don’t think it’s that simple…” she looked at her mate, who nodded, snarling from his nose.

“If the Commanding Alpha finds something –anything that could be used to his own advantage, no one would ever dream of contradicting him. It doesn’t matter how irrelevant a thing, the pack would follow him.” Elaborated Auruo, shrugging. Not in indifference, but in resignation. “The only thing remaining to do, if such a thing ever occurred, would be to leave the pack.” He was back on his feet, his knee almost completely healed.

“That’s going to be only a matter of time for me.” Said Erwin and every wolf present looked at him, a heavy silence wrapped around his words. “After Pixis came to know about Levi, he fears I could stand as his equal. I’m a threat for this pack.” He felt Levi tensing next to him, so Erwin put a hand over his head. “A pack cannot have two leading Alphas. I have to leave, find a new place and maybe build my own pack. I’m sorry, Levi, but I think-“

“I’ll come with you!” Levi cut him off. His gaze was hard, steely blue eyes fixed on the big alpha, that foolishly felt smaller under the power of that stare. “Don’t even think of leaving me behind, you brainless eyebrows overlord.” The small wolf _snarled_ at the alpha.

And Erwin had to manually restart his brain to recover. “Wait, Levi, I didn’t mean-“

Hanji inhaled noisily and then a wicked grin split their face in two, at the display of insubordination of a pup towards his alpha. “Yeah, tell to the Walking Eyebrows that he’s not going to live a peaceful life, cause we’ll follow as well! Like hell we’ll let you run away!”

Mike nodded slowly, snarling through his nose at the mere thought of such a possibility. He would follow his brother. “Especially not now that Erwin turned funny thanks to Levi.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the whole world.” Tsk-ed Auruo, and Petra smacked him gently on his arm. “Don’t joke about his feelings. He’s shy!” hissed the omega.

“You weren’t thinking of leaving without us, were you?” asked again Erd. Even Gunther seemed upset.

Erwin sighed and shook his head “No, of course I would have told you. In due time. But I don’t want to force any of you in this decision.” Hanji opened their mouth to speak again, but Erwin raised a hand, shutting them. “I’m sorry, but I intended to ask Levi to come with me, since I’m responsible for him, but I’ll understand that you have a life here. We don’t have a set time to leave, but I think the sooner, the better.” The blonde alpha breathed again, feeling lighter after having explained everything. “Think about it, speak to each other. Make the choice you’ll least regret.”

The wolves were silent, mulling over the news. Erwin lowered his clear gaze upon Levi: the small wolf was still next to him, legs shoulders-wide and arms crossed in front of him, head held high. That strange creature, that seemed to know Erwin better than anyone, would soon leave the pack with him.

They will be the only constant in each other life, leaving everything behind themselves. And for reasons that Erwin didn’t want to analyze in that moment, he thought that he wouldn’t want anyone else with him but his irreverent black wolf.


	5. The real change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You made a monster out of me!” spat Levi, shaking his head to clear it from the alpha’s influence. Then he bent on his knee and jumped at Erwin’s throat with another feral growl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I come to you with another update!  
> I had this chapter already done, but when I started to read it to correct any mistakes, well…I ended up rewriting it! O_O I’m hopeless. But finally we are here… the moment we all feared (included Erwin) has come: finally Levi’s memory returnes!  
> DU-DU-DUNN!  
> Thanks as always for keeping up with me, and gimme feedbacks guys, let me know what you think!

When Levi had heard for the first time about Pixis, he didn’t expect an old bald man, with the bad habit of drinking from his own flask every ten minutes or so. He expected someone bigger, more intimidating, maybe. But he was starting to learn not to judge a book by its cover or a wolf by its fur, because the Alpha was indeed as authoritative as leader needed to be.

“That creepy granpa. How could you let him say all that shit?” spat Levi, walking briskly next to Erwin towards the alpha’s cabin.

“You know I couldn’t do otherwise. He wanted to know you, we tried to postpone your meeting as much as possible, but he’s our Commanding Alpha… it’s in his rights to ask you all those questions. And it would have been _nice_ if you answered politely.” Erwin scolded the smaller wolf, elbowing him. “you have to learn to respect you superiors. I know you can do it! You respect me.”

“ _Tch!_ I would have answered politely if he didn’t ask me about my sexual life! _With you!_ ” Levi was grabbing his hair with his hands, trying not to rip it off “What do you think about the pack? It’s good. How are you feeling after your awakening? Fine, thanks. Do you want some of my liquor, maybe directly from my dirty flask so that I could make you drink it in my lap?!” now Levi was snarling in frustration, regarding Erwin with a venomous look.

“He didn’t say any of that, Levi.” Sighed the alpha. Like he would allow any other Alpha to do that, let alone the Commanding Alpha who he already had a matter to settle with. Pixis was already mated, but the man wasn’t blind nor insensible to beauty. And his raven definitely was beautifully alluring. The blonde snorted, upset.

“But he did ask if you had already mated and claimed me, that horny bastard. He didn’t believe you would allow me into your den without leaving me alone.” Snarled again the raven, incredulous.

Erwin sighed again, opening the door of his house “Neither do I.” He whispered to himself.

“What?” Levi turned to face him, not sure to have heard right.

“At least he took well you answers. Well enough to let you stay here, I mean, but don’t forget that our time here is limited.” Erwin’s considerably big brows knitted together “I’m sorry to pull you into this.”

“Oi, stop that already. This is your home, not mine. I don’t have any particular reason to stay. But if you leave, I’d have a reason to go.” Levi was looking at him with his stormy blue-grey eyes, firm and almost flushed against his chest.

Erwin smiled and was able to disguise the croon that spontaneously bubbled in his throat with a barked laugh “Thank you, you thug. Now you can go take a bath.”

“Oh, thank fuck!” replied Levi exasperated, already enjoying his bribe - he accepted to meet Pixis only for this moment!

Days passed, morphing into weeks.

“You all seem to be fixated with this damned pheromones thing!” huffed Levi one morning, still wrapped into warm blankets. Winter was definitely approaching, the morning were turning colder and leaving the bed was harder. Erwin had just overreacted –that dumb chunk of beef still hadn’t got used to waking up next to the raven. Levi looked at the floor, where Erwin were currently lying, propped on his elbow and disentangling his feet from the sheets.

“It’s you who don’t understand!” growled Erwin for the hundredth time, the sound resonating deep in his chest. Levi suppressed a shiver. He wasn’t cold, but then why did he…? “What do you think it would have happened if you started to present? Or if you were an omega? Why can’t you shove it in your hard skull?” Erwin was tired to keep repeating the same things over and over again.

Levi snickered, seeing the powerful alpha struggle with the sheets, his golden hair a mess and emitting a distressed scent. “But I’m not. It’s useless to think about ‘what ifs’, Erwin. Come back to bed, it’s cold out there.” The raven squeezed his eyes shut and snuggled under the covers.

Erwin growled again “Why don’t you listen to me?! Anyway, I can’t, I have to prepare everything for our next departure and you could use the time to go and practice with the others.”

“I already know everything there’s to know about your hunting formations. Or the ones you use during reconnaissance. I reviewed everything yesterday with Mike and Auruo.”

Since coming to the pack, Levi was introduced to the other members of Erwin’s group: Mike and Hanji obviously were the closest to him, but he came to like the others too. Petra was an omega with a sweet yet confident personality. She was quick and very perceptive, making her perfect for surprise attacks. She was mated to Auruo. Levi wouldn’t have chosen him for all the gold in Shiganshina, but Auruo was good enough an alpha for her. He was arrogant, but very strong and loyal, so Levi believed it was good to have him in the squad.

The other two members of Erwin’s little group were Erd, a responsible alpha with a great sense of duty and his mate Gunther, a slightly diffident omega. He was big for being an omega, but that thanks to that, stronger than common omegas and his capability in reading his mate’s body language allowed the two of them an amazing team work.

At first they didn’t like the idea of adding Levi to their consolidated routine, but the black werewolf proved himself in more than an occasion and his fighting skills leveled his path into the group, overcoming his abrasive personality.

Levi would never admit it, but his little stature played in his favor: at the beginning he was trapped in a ten years old body, and that had Hanji and Petra swoon over him. Gunther had to fight off his omegan instincts to not do the same, but eventually he warmed to the raven, too. And maybe, or maybe not, Levi pushed his cuteness to new levels, because he learnt very early, that if you can convince omegas, their mates would follow.

“You can never be too sure. Come and help with breakfast, you thug.” Huffed Erwin, padding barefooted towards the kitchenette. Levi watched him go and sighed, stretching his back. His body had finally reached its original proportions and the raven felt like he just got out from puberty from the second time, his bones ached all over and his skin sometimes prickled funnily! He extended his arms over his head and arched his back lazily, inhaling deeply the strong scent that permeated his alpha’s den. Before he could realize it, a _mewl_ escaped his mouth and a jolt run all over his body, making him realize how good his alpha’s nest smelled. He gasped, sitting straight and pressed the hands over his mouth, blushing furiously.

What was that? And why was he so embarrassed? He never thought he could emit such a noise, but something inside him told him that that was a very explicit sound. A sort of call. He prayed with all his might that Erwin didn’t hear a thing. He sniffed the air and froze.

From the kitchen flowed a very strong scent, rich with dominance and so very responsive to that little noise! Levi remained still, clutching the sheets in his fists, his heart thrumming furiously in his ears, not knowing what to expect. He had noticed that in the last days he had become very prone in recognizing smells and the emotions that pheromones carried. Finally he was starting to understand all this werewolf thing, and now his wolf was screaming at him to just go and find his alpha! For what, Levi didn’t dare to think of.

Meanwhile, Erwin was in a similar state of shock: one moment he was stirring eggs in a pot, the moment later his throat burned and the hair on his neck stood up in goosebumps. He felt a hook clasp around something located in the center of his chest, propelling him towards that beautiful luring sound. Ah, it’s been years since he last heard such an inviting promise and he growled in anticipation, projecting his alpha scent inside the room.

Luckily, the lack of response to his pheromones kept his mind bright enough to remember that the only one that could have made the noise, was the raven wolf in the bedroom. That was enough to turn off every itchy instinct. The alpha took a few good gulps of air, thanking every known god for the absence of scents aside his own, and regained lucidity.

Erwin went on preparing their breakfast –he burnt the eggs, but that was not exactly his fault, and rekindled the fire in the living room. A good ten minutes later, he sat at the table and looked towards the bedroom door. Levi was peeking behind the wooden door, surprise and uncertainty in his blue-gray eyes. His lips were stretched in a thin line and he had a blanket over his shoulders.

Erwin sighed again, motioning with his hand to come closer “Come and eat, you idiot, or it’ll get cold.” He began to eat, keeping an assuming eye on the raven who, after a few seconds of indecisions, joined him at the table.

After a couple of spoons of eggs, Levi opened his mouth to ask “What was tha-“

“Ask Hanji!” Erwin cut him off without looking him in the eyes. The line between Levi’s eyebrows deepened, but the alpha changed topic again “I’m going to a meeting with Pixis, we can’t wait anymore if we want to leave on time. Are you ready to go scouting with us?”

Levi was still upset and was trying to dig a hole in Erwin’s forehead with the intensity of his stare. _Tch_. He had still to perfect that tactics.

“What?” Erwin finally looked at him when he heard the raven clicking his tongue, his cheeks like the one of a hamster.

Levi turned his head and crinkled his nose “Ew, gross! Are you a fucking werehamster?! Close your damn mouth when you’re eating!”

Erwin cocked one of his bushy brows and swallowed “…You’ll never find a mate if you keep up this attitude.” His tone was serious and leveled, but his expression was clearly amused.

“Oh, please, not you too! You sounded just like my uncle!” Levi rolled his eyes.

Erwin’s arm stopped midair, his spoon a few inches from his mouth. Apprehension flickered in his big blue eyes. He swallowed again “Levi... who are you talking about?”

The raven snorted, annoyed, and gripped his spoon like a knife “My uncle, old nutty Kenny Ackerman! You know, the best hunter of Shiganshina village? That obnoxious man used to become a broken record about this every time someone asked Mikasa her hand-“ Levi’s eyes went big as saucers and the air around the two werewolves stilled.

The moment Erwin feared had finally come. Levi was remembering everything. He was remembering who he was before the change. The _real_ Levi. The blonde alpha ignored the pang of guilt and pain that stung his chest… in the past weeks he came to appreciate Levi and coming back to a home that was not deserted anymore had become somewhat of a natural thing…

He set aside those thoughts for another moment, still waiting for Levi’s reaction. He had his eyes wide open and his breath had become shallow. He let go of the spoon that clinked to the floor and brought his hands to his ears. “No, no… it’s not possible…” he was whispering in a panic. He curled onto the chair, his legs folded before him, in a vain attempt to protect himself from the memories.

“AAARGH!” Levi half cried, half howled, a mix of pain and desperation. Then he whined, his wolf calling instinctively for his alpha.

“Levi!” Erwin finally stood and tried to approach the other wolf.

“Don’t touch me, you filthy demon!” growled Levi against him, his eyes big and spirited.

Erwin expected this reaction, it was… human. What confused the young alpha were the mixed signals from the wolfish part of Levi: all his body language called for protection, called for Erwin to come and help him! But the worst thing, was the faint but _very present_ waft of pheromones that Levi released in his distress: they definitely said that the black wolf needed his alpha. It was sweet but not overwhelming, it was refreshing like water on your face after a run, it was nostalgic like returning home after too long, it was warm like the fire in the night and it was everything Erwin had never thought he could be yearn for.

Levi’s scent call was too powerful, too right, too alluring and he hadn’t even presented! It was still premature to understand what dynamic he will be, but definitely his presenting was near. Hanji would totally be thrilled if they knew this.

Erwin grunted and struggled hard to maintain a balance and after a few seconds, he bit into his lip. The pain cleared his mind enough for him to decide it was safer to play the human – he had seen what Levi was able to do, both in his wolf and human form. He really didn’t want to confront the raven.

“Levi…” he tried again, his voice soft and reassuring. He kept his smell as much in control as he could, just to give the other some space.

Levi trembled again, and emitted a choked sound. When he assumed he was in control again, he raised his head, his eyes as hard and sharp as Erwin never saw, with a disenchanted air inside them. Erwin felt for him.

“…Is it true?” asked Levi with a broken voice.

Erwin nodded. And saw the rage pitch in Levi. The raven growled, a low and hostile sound coming from his throat, his lips exposing his canines and his fingers curling in claws.

“How could you?” Levi roared. It didn’t carry the power and defiance of a presented dynamic, but it was fearful nonetheless. “After all I did to defend you! You bit me!” Levi slowly stood from the chair.

“I wanted to save you.” Replied Erwin, barely containing his own growl. His alpha pheromones bit by bit invaded the room.

“You made a monster out of me!” spat Levi, shaking his head to clear it from the alpha’s influence. Then he bent on his knees and jumped at Erwin’s throat with another feral growl. Erwin was bigger, but not as fast as the raven, so he couldn’t completely sidestep him. He chose to sacrifice his arm and let Levi sink his claws in it. When the blond alpha absorbed the hit, his instincts caught fire, seeing the attack as a challenge to his status. He was an alpha, and he could not tolerate such a disrespectful act from a lower dynamic!

Erwin roared to Levi, a much more intimidating sound, that made the obstinate raven falter. Luckily for the two of them, Levi’s dynamic was still uncertain, so Erwin could maintain a strain of control over himself. He throw off balance Levi, that had his claws and teeth still around the blonde’s arm. They fell on the floor in a tangle of limbs, and the alpha used his size to pin the black wolf down. Levi bent his knees to his chest and kicked hard against Erwin’s torso, any air the blonde had in his lungs left him with an aching growl. But the alpha was heavier and such a hit wasn’t enough to unbalance him, so with his free hand, Erwin grabbed Levi’s throat and neared his face to the other’s, until their noses touched.

“ **You won’t defy me, pup! I’m alpha, I protect you!** ”

The words were loaded with authority and Levi whined again, breathless and  startled, but tried to wriggle from the powerful hold. Erwin’s blood was dripping all over Levi’s face.

Erwin didn’t want to let that scene go on further, so he slid the hand that was around the raven’s throat on his nape. The effect was instantaneous: Levi let go of Erwin’s arm, his limbs going slack, his eyes dizzy with the natural endorphins released from the soft massage of his neck. Again, Levi whined in need, against his will.

“W-what… are you… doing to me?” he was able to ask, between one ragged breath and another. He didn’t have the strength to be angry anymore.

Erwin sighed in relief, sitting on his heels and keeping on rubbing Levi’s scruff. He was relieved that the situation didn’t degenerate, but he was very ashamed of himself for resorting to such an intimate display to calm Levi. The nape was a very sensitive spot for dynamics, mostly for omegas and betas. Between mates such a gesture was used to tranquilize, to reassure, to show love and even to enhance sexual desire during mating. For alphas it wasn’t so stimulating, but it carried the same intimate meaning.

He wasn’t in any right to use that against Levi. And yet, rather than respond to his challenge with strength he preferred this. He knew and all the pack knew, that he was a sly bastard, but after this he seriously had to reconsider his morals.

“It’s just a way to calm you. I need you to listen to me, Levi. To help you understand.” He said, his voice still raw from all the previous growling.

“I- I don’t want to…” sighed Levi, curling in himself on the floor. The raven was so confused! He didn’t want to listen to Erwin! He wanted to slit the blonde’s throat with his own hands, to revenge the insult, to take back his life… he didn’t want to remember every single little things the alpha did for him in the short period they were together, he didn’t want to listen to reason. And most of all Levi absolutely, definitely, desperately didn’t want to like the comfort of that strong hand on his neck. So nostalgic and so infuriating at the same time. Because that was exactly what Levi’s wolf wanted in that very moment.

The black wolf bit back a needy whimper.

“I know, but… what’s tearing you apart is the double life you found yourself in. I know that you remember being deadly wounded from those hunters and I know that you understand that without me biting you, you wouldn’t be here now. Alive.” Erwin explained with a soothing tone. “You need to listen to what I have to say and you can ask whatever you want, but you have to come to term with all this.”

Levi sniffed, but no tear streaked down his face. He was utterly mortified: why did he attack Erwin? The alpha had always treated him with respect and patience, he never hurt him! He even welcomed him in his home, his nest! He shared his food with him and allowed Levi to rebuild a life from scratch, letting him join his recon squad. And yet… what remained of human inside Levi, screamed and wanted to rebel to this change: this was something that he never wanted! Why did Erwin do this to him?

But Levi knew the answer to all of this: it wasn’t Erwin’s fault. Fate, fortuities, or some whimsical deity above… Levi almost laughed. Weren’t werewolves considered deities? And yet he had so little control over his life…

“What about my family?” finally asked the raven.

Erwin’s brow furrowed in a sad expression and his clear eyes searched stormy grey orbs. He gave a final brush to Levi’s nape and retracted his hand to cradle his injured arm. “I don’t know about them. When you divided into groups, Hanji and Mike followed your sister and your uncle. As far as I know, they’re safe. They looked for you for days, but when they didn’t find anything, they went back to your village. I think that they … assumed you died that day.”

Levi swallowed, closing his eyes “How much time has passed?”

“Five or six weeks.” He looked at his arm, shredded skin was stretching over deep cuts, the blood gradually slowing its flow: it was already healing.

Levi forced himself up, and sat on the floor in front of the blonde alpha, his eyes lowered. Levi inhaled once, twice and before speaking, he made sure his voice was calm and collected as much as possible “Do you think I could go back to my village?”

“Could you do that? After all that changed within yourself?”

Levi grimaced, considering all that changed in his body but also in his mind. Now he was no more human, he was a new creature, the power of the Forest slowly growing inside him. The answer was clearly negative, but he was stubborn. “At least I could tell them that I’m alive!”

Erwin hummed, shaking his head “I don’t think Pixis would let you do that. And neither would I.” Levi gasped. He had hoped in Erwin’s support, this time too.

Levi snarled again “Why can’t I tell them? At least they could sleep in peace at night! They wouldn’t carry the burden of my supposed _fucking_ death!”

“I understand. And if I could, I’d come with you to meet them. But think about the risk you’d be in! Think about going back inside those hunters’ den! And think about your family: you can’t stay with them and they would be forced to lose you a second time.” Erwin sighed, scratching at the new skin that was covering Levi’s marks on his arm. “If you keep them in the dark, you can protect them. How do you think people would react, if they suspected that your uncle and your sister knew all along what happened to you? If people suspected they conspired against their fellows?” Erwin prompted “They would kick your family out the village and they would be forced to live like savages in the Forests! They would die, Levi! And then your people would come after you, they would take your fur and your teeth and your beautiful eyes and, and I-! I cannot allow that, Levi.”

On the last words the alpha’s voice was broken, a snarl hidden behind human language. He didn’t want to think what would happen to his raven if he decided to go back to Shiganshina village.

Levi wanted to growl again, to rebel against every damned logic that Erwin was shoving on his face, but when he raised his eyes, he saw the marks of his teeth and claws on Erwin’s arm. And when the raven met the alpha’s eyes -oh they were so blue, and full of comprehension!

And behind the confusing anger, for the first time, Levi felt like he was himself again. He was whole. Chapped and tattooed with cracks, maybe, but he knew who he was again. He breathed in, the air of their kitchen still full of burned eggs and alpha pheromones. Levi let Erwin’s scent sooth him, swallowing the relief he felt when he didn’t smell anything other than worry and desire to protect, in it. That was his alpha! At least that didn’t change.

Wait a moment… _his_ alpha?! Now that his mind wasn’t a whirling ball of wolfish instincts, he could tell that the thought was amiss.

“Levi? You alright?” asked tentatively the blonde alpha, still crouched on the floor.

“O-oh, yeah. I’m… okay, I think. What about your arm?” The raven nodded toward Erwin’s injure.  

“Mmh, it’s nothing. As you can see, it’s already healed.” To prove that, thee alpha moved his arm: aside the dried blood on his sleeve and the tore fabric, it was perfect.

Erwin showed his arm to Levi, that mumbled something similar to “Fucking alphas and their vitality…” while he took the chance to study the smaller wolf. Now Levi’s eyes were sharper and harder, no longer big and full of wonder – no longer the eyes of a pup. Those were the eyes of someone that saw a lot of cruel things in his life, someone who knew the weight of life itself. The scowl between his eyebrows was deeper and his shoulders stiff. Levi was not a man who put his trust into others easily. Erwin smiled sadly: he would have to start anew with him. But even if the blonde tried to ignore the pull, it was undeniable that he wanted to work hard to regain Levi’s trust.

Erwin looked at his small raven, left alone to face all this werewolf mess, and had to fight the urge to pull him close and cradle him, assure him everything will be fine, take him to bed and croon to him until tomorr- _no, no. That was calling for his arm to be amputated by the raven!_ He cleared his voice. And hopefully his head.

“So, what do you want to do now?” asked Erwin.

Levi fisted his hands on his legs, folded underneath his kneeling figure “I hate this. Everything! From that old man that thinks he can tell you what to do when you clearly know better, from that goggled nightmare Hanji to the filth of your hose!” Erwin bristled but didn’t have time to reply “But I’ll stay, I’ll follow you. This time, out of my own free will and not because of some fucking turn of event.”

Erwin nodded, warmth spreading inside his chest and a smile opening his face. He was happy that Levi accepted the situation. Of course, it would take some time to adjust to everything, but now he was confident, because Levi had chosen him of his own will! Hoping that would be the choice with less regrets.

The young alpha stood and looked at the smaller wolf. He wanted to offer a hand to help him stand, but thought otherwise, leaving the raven his spaces. “I’m going to revise things with the others for our next expedition, do you-“

“No.” replied Levi shortly. He straightened and observed Erwin with a sidelong “I need some time, I need…”he didn’t know what he wanted, tore in two: his human wanted to run away and never turn back to this nightmare, his wolf wanted to press against his alpha’s side and keel to be comforted. Levi swallowed loudly “I’m going for a run. I’ll join you in a while.”

Erwin nodded. “Stay inside our territories.”

Levi nodded again and walked towards the door of their hut. He opened the door and took a few steps, longer and faster. He hit the dusty trail that lead outside the wolves’ village, his surroundings becoming a blur. He ignored the questioning expression on other wolves’ faces. He didn’t need to explain himself. He didn’t need to think what to say, hell, he didn’t need to think anymore, for now. Levi let his feet lead him, thudding against soft ground, his breath labored and the sound of pumping blood inside his ears covering the useless coiling thoughts.

Once arrived to a small clear that Erwin’s squad used as reference, he undressed with quick movements and hid his clothes inside a bush as always. He almost didn’t realize as his body changed, curving and covering in black slick fur, his powerful paws already moving.

Levi let the buzz of the Forest fill the void inside him, lull his mind to nothing and he let himself run. He was a dark spot darting through the wood, he was but a speck of life in that mystery world of light and shadows, of little lives of insects and birds that soared in the sky running from him. When the black wolf couldn’t breathe anymore, he kept on running.

He stopped his mad sprint only when he felt he was about to collapse. Levi noticed that the sun had already passed his peak. He must have run for hours... _damn, Erwin told him to remain inside the pack boundaries…_ He kept walking, though and licked his muzzle, suddenly thirsty. When he sniffed the air looking for a pond of water, a stinging smell hit him. Levi knew the smell, but it didn’t belong to the Forest. It belonged to humans. It belonged to hunters and blood.

It was the smell of a burning fire, consuming lives. The more he walked towards it, the more the raven could taste the vile flavor of grease over his taste buds. He looked over the treetops and found what he was looking for: black smoke stained the blue sky in long stripes.

Levi couldn’t use his sense of smell to detect enemies in the vicinity, so he lowered as much as possible to the ground, pawing his way towards the origin of the columns of smoke. Finally, between the trees he could detect the remnants of a village.

What the hell was happening? From his position, the black wolf could see the remains of a werewolves’ village. The few huts and cabins were burning, not a soul to be seen. Walking that is, because lying on the ground, Levi could see a lot of corpses.

The raven whined and a primitive fear climbed into his chest. Suddenly all Levi wanted, was to go back to Erwin, to his pack and be sure everyone was all right. Hell, he even wanted to see Hanji!

Levi waited a few more minutes, then circled the small village around. When he made sure no one was hidden in the Forest, he rapidly surveyed the ashes and the corpses. No one survived the horrible injures, not women, not even the few young he found, hidden between their parents arms and slaughtered. Some wolves had tried to fight back whatever attacked them and those ones, alpha and betas, were horribly injured and mutilated, blood soaking the ground.

But these wolves didn’t fall in vain, for a lot of humans were lying dead next to them, their throat slit and eyes gauged, their mouths opened in silent screams.

Levi was already growling, his fury dark and consuming like the fires still bright. He howled, a long and broken sound ripping the unnatural silence. And when all his sadness reached the sky, higher than the trails of smoke, he moved again. He left that cemetery and fled through the Forest, faster and faster, his paws barely hitting the ground, his mind and his heart pulling him to the comfort of his blonde alpha.

 


	6. Borders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The blonde alpha stood abruptly and turned towards the door “Ask Hanji!” he said –almost shouted.
> 
> “You can’t keep avoiding my question, useless Eyebrows!” growled back Levi, stretching on the couch to follow with his eyes the alpha, grinning amused after having noticed the redness painting Erwin’s cheeks and ears. It seems that lately ‘ask Hanji’ was all the blonde would say. “Come back and don’t chicken out!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gawd the last chapter of SnK!! The feels guys, the feels *___* My baby Levi is too precious for this world <3 Sina protect him!
> 
> That said, enjoy the new chapter! We move a bit more with the main plot and Levi and Erwin try to reach a new balance. I would like to hug every one of you for leaving the sweetest comments and kudos, you make me want to write faster! *smooooches*

Levi didn’t remember how he came back to the werewolves village. He only knew that he had run without stopping, for what seemed a blurred eternity. The black wolf didn’t stop to retrieve his clothes, he went directly to Erwin: that was the only imperative that moved him, the alpha was the only one who knew what to do.

Levi bolted through the natural wall of woods protecting the village, howling like mad. He needed to call for his squad, he needed to call for his alpha and warn everyone of the danger! Wolves on his path were startled at his strange behavior, screamed after him in anger, scurried away to let him pass.

Levi considered briefly where Erwin was more likely to be, slowing down. Then he thought that to speak to the blonde, he would need clothes to cover himself with, so he run towards their hut. Relief washed over him as Levi approached the small wooden cabin, still intact and safe. He barreled through the door, panting hard, not expecting to collide against a wall. _A wall?! What the hell-_

The black wolf whined, feeling the hard surface blocking his way. He pulled back to regain his balance, but found that he couldn’t, for something was restraining him. He tried to wriggled out, growling.

“Levi! Levi, calm down! It’s me!” Erwin was calling from him and the raven stopped immediately, realizing that what was keeping him in place, were the blonde’s strong arms and the hard –but soft- surface that he collided against, was nothing other than his wonderfully lickable chest.

“For heaven’s sake, Levi, what got into you?” Erwin asked, pulling his raven inside. Levi whined again, his ears flat against his furred head, his tail snaking restlessly around. Those steely blue eyes were upset, not only for their previous argument, but because of something that had happened when Levi was far from him, Erwin could see that. A natural croon surged from the blonde’s chest.

Levi instantly started to relax. He was safe.

“When I heard someone howling, I immediately recognized you.” Erwin was kneeling inside their home, stroking Levi’s head and stiff shoulders, his other hand patting constantly on his heaving side. He was making sure Levi was not hurt. “I was afraid because you were gone for almost a day and when I thought to come and look for you, you came back to me.” Erwin’s lips twitched in a half smile and Levi could be hallucinating, but he saw fondness beyond those clear eyes. The raven shivered, his muscles were strained and tired. He lowered his head and leaned against Erwin, in that moment he could be taken for a tamed dog. _Tch._

Levi raised his head again, snorted and with his front paws pushed Erwin, strutting towards the bathroom.

Erwin rolled his eyes “Of course you would. I’ll take you a change of clothes, but don’t take root inside the tub, the others surely heard you and will probably come barging in wanting to know what happened…” he furrowed his brow “And I don’t intend to let other alphas enter my den, so we have to move on neutral ground.”

Levi snorted again, shaking his head. All these werewolf behaviors were driving him mad, but while he returned to his human form and washed himself from the sweat and the mud, he noticed he still had some of Erwin’s blood smeared on his face from that morning and almost gagged. He realized that he didn’t want anyone else to enter their cabin, too. That was their home, their den, as Erwin had called it and one alpha was more than enough. Levi could barely stand to clean after him and was starting to see the first improvements in the blonde’s habits to match his standards: he would not tolerate others’ fuck ups.

Okay, maybe he could understand why Erwin didn’t want anyone to trespass his own home. Levi was buttoning a warm sweater when he realized that all the tension and worries that had driven him back, were gone. Even his anger about his changing into a monster was somehow subsided.

“Stupid wolf instincts…” muttered the raven, padding back into the main room. There, he found Erwin pacing back and forth. The bigger wolf turned to him with a serious expression.

“You feeling well?” he asked, his icy blue eyes roaming the raven’s clothed figure.

Levi cleared his throat, averting his eyes. Sometimes he had the impression that Erwin could look right through him –and through his clothes. Damn, those eyes could dig a hole in a wall. Despite all he had said to him during their argument, Erwin was still worrying about him. _He always had_ , specified a small voice in Levi’s mind. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Erwin exhaled in relief, not bothering to pretend he wasn’t worried. Levi felt something similar to guilt, paint the insides of his stomach. Then the alpha knitted his eyebrows together. “Would you like to tell me what happened for you to cause such a scene?”

Levi’s eyes thinned threatening, but he nodded. He rounded the couch and sat, waiting for Erwin to do the same. The blonde obliged, maintaining a respectful distance between them. Levi had to swallow every inane whine his wolf wanted to do in this regard and ignored the pull of the rich, smoothing scent coming from Erwin’s scent gland.

Levi told Erwin about the general direction in which he run, how he noticed the fire and how it consequently lead him to discover the village and the massacre that had took place there.

“They were slaughtered, Erwin. Without mercy. Alphas and omegas alike, pups still hidden in their mothers’ arms.” Levi was growling, still upset, but his eyes held compassion and sympathy as intense as the liquid mercury that coiled into those orbs. Erwin found hard not to lean in and kiss those beautiful eyes, surely mirror of a beautiful soul, because the howl that Levi launched, told Erwin all he needed to know about how strongly felt the black wolf.

After a detailed description of the state of the village and the disposition of the corpses, Erwin voiced the scenario he depicted in his mind “They must have attacked from the northern hills, where the vegetation was thicker and there were less sentinel. They were smart enough to know that the wolves thought the Forests was able to protect them. The attackers probably waited for the right moment downwind. Maybe they had dogs with them, because I don’t think that alphas could get slaughtered in such a way by human weapons only.”

Levi arched his eyebrows “Would dogs attack a wolf? I didn’t think it was possible… that is, you are all animals, aren’t you?” Erwin snorted, his face calling for bullshit and Levi corrected his words, rolling his eyes “ _We_ , are.”

“Yes, _we are_ animals, Levi. But we’re no lapdogs.” Pride and an ancient authority gleamed in the alpha’s sharp features, his scent raw and musky. Levi’s skin rippled in goosebumps and he tried to breath with his mouth, because Erwin’s scent was going to his head in _all the damn right ways_ \- and that was his mistake.

Because now, Levi could almost _taste_ the wild power of the alpha, the thread that linked him to the Forest, the ancient roots that screamed that werewolves were indeed the favorite sons of the Forest. The raven wrinkled his nose and schooled his expression. That morning, when he attacked Erwin in his desire to kill him –or at least heavily maim him, seemed to belong to another life. Now all Levi’s wolf wanted, was to belong to that very reality the alpha swam in, that same bright flow of life.

Erwin went on explaining. “Surely Hanji will be delighted to explain that to you more precisely, but the gist of the story is that animals can perceive us like the predators we are. Horses, sheep and cows become restless and jittery. Cats run from us. Dogs react to us in a much more aggressive way, we are seen as a threat.”

Luckily, Erwin read Levi’s expressions as consequences of what he was saying. “Ehi, it’s not so bad. Once you get accustomed. It’s not that we stink!”

Levi caught the chance to pass his undeniable arousal for daze behind Erwin’s words “But we do stink! All this pheromone mess, influences animals and they flee from yo- us. What about humans? Do they run away too?” he crossed his legs and his arms over his chest, hoping to stop the trembling in his limbs. Stupid legs and useless arms that wanted to pull that hard wall of alpha muscles against him, making Levi submit to the alpha and let him do whatev- _stop stop stop the fucking horses, pull yourself together you don’t have any idea what you’re thinking about get a grip for fuck’s sake!_ Levi looked insistently at the floor, stiff as a broomstick, his eyes bigger than normal… he needed to speak to Hanji. What the fuck was happening to him? What was all that submitting story?!

The blonde alpha chuckled, misunderstanding again Levi’s reactions “Humans can’t tell we’re werewolves when we’re not in our animal form, but they get jittery and nervous around us, too. It requires some time, usually… days, I dare say. Hours, if the human is especially perceptive. It’s a sensation they can’t explain, but since they know about us, they can put two and two together. At least, that was until some years ago, when our existence wasn’t merely a beautiful story for children.”

“So that’s why I can’t go back home.” Said Levi and looked at Erwin through his lashes, still dejected by this new reality.

Erwin’s lips stretched in a small smile, in apology “Concerning your family, yes. But as I tried to tell you this morning…think about yourself. Could you go back and still live the same life as before?”

Levi thought about his new habits in the last weeks: he ate and slept more frequently, without given hours. Sometimes he needed to run in the Forest, sometimes he needed the company of his brethren. Even his movements were swifter, quicker. He couldn’t pass for a mere human anymore – and he still hadn’t presented, so his abilities were still dulled. The raven was starting to understand what kind of changings to him would bring such a thing.

“But what if I go into… what did Hanji called it –ah, heat! If I go into heat when we’re close to-“

The blonde alpha stood abruptly and turned towards the door “Ask Hanji!” he said –almost shouted.

“You can’t keep avoiding my question, useless Eyebrows!” growled back Levi, stretching on the couch to follow with his eyes the alpha, grinning amused after having noticed the redness painting Erwin’s cheeks and ears. It seems that lately ‘ask Hanji’ was all the blonde would say. “Come back and don’t chicken out!”

“I can ignore you very well, thank you. In fact!” Erwin turned towards Levi, not surprised at all, seeing the raven lounging on his couch with his hands holding his chin like the naughty child he was “I’m going to speak to the squad. They heard you and came straight here. They’re waiting out to know how you’re fairing.”

Levi hummed and with a liquid motion, straightened, padding beside the taller wolf “You’re a chicken, not a wolf.” He snorted.

“If I was a chicken, you would have turned into a turkey, not a wolf.”

“Yeah, we could sell a lot of eggs. We could have become reach!” replied Levi without losing a beat, but internally he thanked the universe for being at the top of the food chain. Erwin opened the door of their cabin and just out there, Levi saw his alpha’s comrades.

“Actually, I once read this book where they said that wolves had some sort of kinship to chickens.” Commented Hanji, dabbing their chin with their fingers “I think it could be for the legs.” Levi wasn’t surprised at all if the lunatic beta heard every single words they said. Damned werewolves and their super hearing abilities.

“What the hell are you saying, Hanji?” asked Auruo, clearly fed up by the waiting.

“Hanji, don’t chickens have only two legs?” asked Petra, confused, looking at Mike. The tall alpha smiled under his mustache, apparently amazed by his mate delusions.

“Better two than nothings, don’t you think?” cackled the beta, throwing back their head and resting their hands upon the hips.

“You really have a lot of problems.” Tch-ed Levi, crossing his arms over his chest. He had followed Erwin out of his hut and from the body language of the wolves around him, Levi understood how territorial they were. The two omegas and Hanji seemed fine, until they were next to their mate, but alphas were all slightly tense. Their instincts knew how close they were to another alpha’s den.

“Erwin! What happened? We heard Levi howl, we thought something happened…” started Erd, looking to the blonde first and then to the smaller black wolf “But I see he seems fine.”

Levi nodded. He was amazed –and partly guilty, realizing that those wolves cared for him. Then he looked at Erwin, giving him the privilege to tell them what he had seen.

Erwin nodded in response and beckoned his brothers to form a circle around him, so they could speak without risk of being heard. There wasn’t a soul walking in the vicinity, but one can’t be too sure. And so the blond alpha told his group everything that Levi had seen, looking towards the raven when he wanted more details or his impressions.

When Erwin finished speaking, the small group of wolves was silent. Anyone was deep in thought and their expressions were heavy with worries.

“What do you think, Erwin? Have you already any idea?” asked Gunther in a whisper.

“Mh-mh.” Nodded Erwin “I think there’s two possibilities to be considered for now, but I want to think again about what Levi saw. Anyway, tomorrow morning we’ll go see Pixis and update him. It could be a problem between two packs, but I have rarely seen such a destructive behavior…so I’d really like to go there in person and inspect the remains of the village. Obviously “ he anticipated Levi’s question, whose mouth was barely open “we need Pixis’ approval to go scout there. It’s not me.”

Levi huffed and rolled his eyes murmuring “Chicken.” Under his breath. He really couldn’t make his mind around the fact that Erwin obeyed Pixis.

Mike nodded “For now, we’ll think about what you said. We’ll see you again in the morning.”

Hanji nodded, but before leaving, they fixed Levi and asked “Why were you running alone so far from our boundaries?”

The other wolves, already a few steps away, stopped. They didn’t think about the reasons behind Levi’s odd discovery. The raven felt Erwin go stiff beside him and swore under his breath.

“Stupid pile of crazy fur, being observant when no one asked you to.” Levi breathed deeply and explained “This morning I remembered everything. Everything before the change, that is. So I needed some space and time alone and went for a run. Happy?” he snorted the last word.

 A chorus of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ raised from the group, but the beta spoke again “Well, congratulation! Now we only have to baptize you in a very large bathtub of Pixis’ best liquor and we can-“

“Hanj.” Called quietly Mike, smiling at the idea. Erwin was trailing his hands over his face.

“But I’m surprised! With all that happened you didn’t attack Erwin? You didn’t try to slit his throat? Not even to gouge his eyes a tiny bit?”

Levi groaned, he knew that Hanji wouldn’t be fooled. “Okay, yes, maybe I tried to tear out one of his arms… but I didn’t insist, as you can see, your amazing Commander Wig is still in one piece. But only thanks to this foul move that drained me of every strength!” now the raven was pouting: it hadn’t been a fair confrontation!

“What kind of move are you talking about? There’s no such a thing…” said Gunther, shrugging and looking at his friends.

“I’m saying that he immobilized me and only because he’s a fucking huge ass! Anyway he took me by my nape and-“ Erwin yelped and before Levi could end the sentence, the blonde alpha covered his mouth with his hands, pulling a kicking Levi back towards the cabin.

“O-okay, I think that’s enough for tonight. I’ll see you all tomorrow morning in the practice building-“

Hanji blinked once, twice and then the widest maniacal grin that existed, twisted their face “YOU SCRUFFED HIS NAPE! You perverted old man, you did that!” and the next moment the beta was laughing their ass out, rolling on the ground. The others were still too stunned at the revelation to act, but slowly everyone joined them in their fun.

“I-I didn’t know what to do! And I’m telling you Hanji, this is all your fault! I’ll send the kid to you and you’ll have to explain everything to him! You hear me? Everything! OUCH!”

“Let me go, you big chunk of meat- how dare you!“ Levi had bitten Erwin’s hand, while the blond tried to go back inside and not to bury himself six feet underground.

Hanji was still laughing like mad “Yes, please! Send him to me so that I can explain why you’re such a _wolf_ around him! Aww, my poor baby lamb!”

“Just try to not eat him tonight, Commander!” snickered Auruo, leaning an arm around Petra and waving goodbye. Gunther and Erd followed shortly after and so did Mike and Hanji –when finally the huge alpha was able to unglue the beta from the ground.

Once inside, Levi was angry because he didn’t understood, but was also amused by Erwin’s reaction. He was patting a foot on the floor, annoyed “What the hell was that?”

“Ask Hanji!” growled Erwin from the kitchen and Levi could see all the frustration behind the blonde movements.

“Just try to not burn our dinner, this time.” He joked. But promptly shut up when the alpha roared in his face. He set the table in high spirits.

* * *

 

That night Erwin slept in an empty bed.

Levi bid him goodnight and prepared a couple of blankets over the couch. The blonde heard him adjusting under his covers and suddenly his room felt too cold. The night outside was dark and silent, and no sound was heard inside Erwin’s bedroom. Only the night before, he could hear the soft snoring of the raven, his occasional mumbling in his sleep. He could feel his warmth when, during the night, Levi would wrap around him, his lithe body molding perfectly against the alpha.

Erwin sighed and rolled on his side, no position was comfortable enough for sleep to come. The blonde closed his eyes and focused on the steady breathing coming from the other room. Even if Levi was physically distant, the raven didn’t leave the pack, didn’t leave Erwin. And the blonde was truly relieved by that, because the little wolf’s presence was growing. He was an important asset to his squad, a good distraction for Hanji, a steady presence in his mornings, in his bed, in his… life.

Only a couple of months ago the honey-blonde alpha didn’t even think about sharing his den and his days with another person… not to say someone like Levi! And yet he found himself to be fond of him. Erwin squeezed his eyes again, determined to regain what he had with Levi at any cost. Whatever it was.

* * *

 

Levi was propped on a table covered in maps and notes, reading – _again_ , Erwin’s instruction for their next journey. They would push till their pack’s boundaries, if Erwin could convince Pixis to look further in the burnt village affair. He sighed, thinking that he would know soon enough, for the blonde was talking to the Commanding Alpha in that precise moment, together with Mike, Auruo and Erd.

“Heeey, Leeeeeevi ~” that screech was unmistakable. Hanji broke through the door grinning like manic, followed by Petra and Gunther.

“What are you doing, here all alone? Are you sulking because your blondie can’t take care of you? You know that you can always come to me to –hrmph!” Levi effectively silenced her by sticking a scroll into their mouth.

Gunther laughed, Petra scolded him “That was unnecessary, Levi.”

“That was extremely necessary for my nerves. I already had a hard morning listening to Commander Pheromones and his perfect logic, I don’t wanna hear your blabbering hole emit useless sound.”

“Wow, that was a lot of words from you.” Noticed Gunther, crossing his arms on his chest.

“Wow, that was another unnecessary comment.” Levi rolled his eyes.

“Hey, shorty, someone rubbed you the wrong way?” Said Hanji, putting down the scroll they had in their mouth.

Levi made his best not to blush, remembering the embarrassing scene of the last days. Not the one in which he tried to butcher Erwin, no. The one in the bed. Or the one where he _actually_ whined when the alpha rubbed his nape. Some color crept on his cheeks.

“O-Oh! What am I sniffing?” sing songed the stupidly perceptive beta “Are you hiding something from me, my dear baby opossum?”

Levi resisted the urge to strangle them, so he snorted “No, dumbass, nothing of your interest! I didn’t sleep well, last night, that’s all.” He slept alone and that _had sucked_. But he wouldn’t admit it aloud, not even on his deathbed.

Like it wasn’t enough, Petra too sniffed the air, a knowing smirk on her face. “Yeah, it feels like something’s different. Like _you_ are different, Levi.” She squared him up and down. Levi preyed in all the languages that they would stop with this story. He knew his hopes were vain when Petra’s eyes went as wide as a plate “You! You smell like…like _him_!”

At that, Hanji breathed in hard and tried to go near Levi’s neck, just where his scent glands were “What the hell are you doing, you freak of nature?! Stay away from me!” the raven defended himself, jumping away, but the beta knew already –hell, everyone in his squad knew, that Erwin scraped his nape. Levi didn’t know what meaning that gesture held, but understood that sooner or later he would have to ask Hanji. The beta grinned manically. Oh, how Levi longed to claw that smug expression away from their face and shove it up Hanji’s ass!

“My, my! How touchy...I wonder what _really_ happened for you to smell like Commander Handsome! Like, you bathed in his pheromones? Because that’s exactly what it seems to me and-“

“And I still would say that’s not the time to discuss such things.” Interrupted with icy calm Erwin, who had just crossed the door with his alpha brothers. He had a serious expression and was bottling up all his smell: knowing what a control maniac the bastard was, Levi suspected that that was an embarrassed reaction. The raven briefly grinned towards the blonde alpha, just to see the glint of challenge in those blue eyes. Then he schooled his expression to seem as bored as ever.

“I’ll have to ask Hanji anyway.” Murmured Levi, so that only Erwin could hear him. one of the blonde’s eyebrows twitched and the black wolf rejoiced in his little sadistic heart.

“Aww, Erwin, you’re a party pooper!” the beta puffed their cheeks.

“Come on Hanji, let’s hear what he has to say and then we can grill him.” suggested Gunther, but he furrowed his brow once he saw his mate: Erd’s shoulders were stiff and he got a somber expression. “What happened?” asked the omega, approaching his alpha.

“Bad news from Pixis” replied Erd, looking at Gunther first and then at the others. “At the meeting there were other groups of wolves… recently they have noticed strange movements around their packs, too, and wanted to know if we had had the same impression.”

Petra gasped. Auruo put an arm on her shoulders and spoke “It doesn’t seem to be about territory squabbles between confining packs, because the only village attacked for now, it’s the one Levi saw. In all the other cases, wolves say that they found traces around their boundaries. Like some fucking creeps are watching them.”

“If territories were the problem, why destroy the villages? Why don’t leave them intact and establish there?” asked Gunther, pensive. The wolves were all tense, thinking at the problem at hand and what it could mean to them. Instinctively all the couples reformed, with Mike standing tall beside Hanji, exchanging place with Levi, who reclaimed his position at Erwin’s side.

The act didn’t go unnoticed to the blonde alpha, that cocked an eyebrow, stupefied: what happened the day before was still fresh in his mind, and yet Levi was being totally honest with his decision. The raven said that he’d follow Erwin, and with this small gesture the alpha knew that Levi had spoken the truth. He’d follow his choice with no regrets.

“Because that wasn’t the problem.” Said Hanji, interrupting the silence. Every wolf turned his attention to them. “I don’t think it just a contention about territories… Am I right, Commander?”

Erwin sighed and felt Levi raise his eyes on him “Yes, you are, Hanji. Considering what Levi saw and what’s been said during the meeting, I think we are facing an outer threat. Someone that needs to observe us to know our habits, but is enough familiar with ambush and surprise attacks to exterminate an entire village. We’re not dealing with our brothers, but with humans. And I’m worried because I think those hunters are from the inner lands.” Unconsciously, the blonde alpha looked at Levi. The raven had already understood what it was all about and he showed his canines with a low growl.

“And what does that mean, Erwin?” asked Gunther, confused.

“It means” answered Levi, his voice low and full of hatred “that those motherfuckers want _us_. As in our fur, our fangs. Our bones. Inner landers don’t know what the Forests is, they don’t hunt to provide meat, or fur to cover themselves with… They’re looking for trophies.”

Petra gasped, the other alphas in the room growled in response to the distressed scents she and Gunther emitted.

“It’s highly possible that those are the same men that tried to capture us when we met Levi the first time.” Said Mike, his strong arms crossed over his broad chest. Hanji hooked a hand around their mate’s elbow, a light touch to comfort the both of them.

“In that case we know who we are dealing with.” Said coldly Erwin, his eyes still on Levi’s smaller figure “They are despicable, bloodthirsty but quite disorganized and not very familiar with the Forest. We should take advantage of this fact.” Erwin stated, and Levi could feel and smell the determination grow inside the alpha, as he released a soft smell of reassurance and protection. Levi repressed a shiver –again!, but couldn’t oppose his eyes from closing in bliss as he basked in the alpha’s pheromones. _Tch_ , Levi had to tame his wolf, it couldn’t do as it pleased and let him pass for a boneless fish! Suddenly, Levi was very annoyed at himself.

“Anyway, get ready, we’re going to hunt.” Said Erwin, a cunning smile showing his white fangs.


	7. The raid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What the hell is happening here?” asked Erwin. Wonderful, just the last alpha Levi wanted to see on this filthy planet.  
> The blonde hooked his big hands under Levi’s armpits and pulled the raven against his chest. “Levi, let Hanji go. Bad boy, Levi. You don’t strangle friends!”  
> Levi kicked and wiggled his fingers, trying to reach for the beta’s neck again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my beautiful!! I’m very excited to present you this chapter, cause it came out completely different from what I thought, all thanks to wonderful Hanji <3  
> Finally we move on with the main plot (I wanted to write this sooo much!), not much fluff in here and mild gore (very mild, but still). Thanks for all the wonderful comments you left me, they really keep me going, I love reading your feedbacks, so don’t be a Levi and let me know what you think! :P

They were moving as soon as the sun raised. The day promised to be cloudy and under the thick leaves of the Forest there was even less light. Still, the small group of wolves advanced with a good pace. Every small change in the posture of the leading wolf, a honey-blonde furred beast, lead to a swift change of direction. By outsiders, the small pack moved more likely to a flock of starlings, their movements fluid like water, rolling through the trees like a harmonious and unstoppable wave.

It was also clear that those wolves were no common beasts: beside the strange behavior, their sizes and intelligent stares, every wolf carried a small bag over their back, in which they had a small change of clothes, a knife and food. You could never know what awaited ahead, better safe than sorry.

Erwin wanted to arrive at the destroyed village before noon, so that they’d have a couple of hours of good light to inspect its whereabouts. They advanced to a speed that allowed to look around to identify any suspicious track or oddity.

Levi was used to the flux of thoughts by now, and he had already run with Erwin’s squad enough, to know that during missions they were very serious. Through the connection Levi could only distinguish Hanji, the crazy beta singing some tune of their own invention. The others were just presences, some of them calming and stable such as Gunther and Petra, others glowing brightly like Auruo and Erd. And then there were two walls enclosing their pack, the firm presence of Mike and Erwin.

When they finally arrived near the village, the pack slowed down its pace and Mike sniffed air. Once it was clear that no immediate threat was posed, Erwin gave the order.

_-Split!_

_-Aye, Aye, Commander! Be a good boy Short Stuff!_

_-I hope you bite your stupid tongue while running, Goggles._

_-Never! That’s Auruo’s specialty!_

Mike and a laughing Hanji took the path down south around the village, followed by Gunther and Erd while Erwin guided the remaining wolves toward north. The honey-blond alpha lowered his head: at the sign, the three wolves positioned themselves near him, in line, to cover more territory.

They had their muzzle in the grass, eyes scanning for any sign that didn’t belong to the Forest. When they arrived over a little hill, Auruo’s attention was caught by a patch of thick vegetation, where the earth was soft and moved around the remaining of a camp fire.

_-Commander, it seems that whoever attacked the village observed them for a while from this point. They stayed here for a long period of time…maybe one day, but they left nothing here._

_-This place gave them a good point of view of the village. Levi, do you see anything that could tell us who these people are?_

Levi shook his head, those hunters had cleaned after themselves pretty well. He followed Petra down the small hill, the strawberry-blonde omega sniffing around until she raised her eyes and snorted.

_-Here’s the traces we’re looking for. Footsteps of both human and horses. Maybe a small carriage._

_-Exactly where we thought they came from. They thought this shitty excuse of a promontory would defend them._

_-Well, Auruo, this was a small village, relatively far from any human crowd. They didn’t have reasons to fear a surprise attack._

_-Maybe they were a young pack… newly formed. They lacked the experience._

Petra’s thoughts were delicate and sympathetic and Erwin knew that he would not make the same careless mistake, when Pixis decided to throw him out from his actual pack.

_-Why do you think they had a small carriage with them? It’s not easy to move such a thing into the Forest. They would be more visible and it slows down the pace by far!_

_-Because they wanted to bring with them something that couldn’t be carried by horse._

_-That is?_

The four wolves followed the tracks back into the Forest for a while, between the smashed grass and the lower branches of trees, broken by the passage of the hunting party. When they had a clearer idea which direction the attackers came from, they turned again toward the small village. Levi’s ears pointed toward his front, angry, while he answered to the alpha.

_-Living wolves, Auruo. As Erwin told you, they’re Inner Landers. They don’t hunt to eat or to defend themselves. They hunt for trophies._

The two alphas snorted, their protective instincts challenged. They left the thicker green beyond them and came to a halt before the entrance of the village. Levi didn’t come from this way the day before, so the sad view was a first for him, too: now that the smoke was extinguished, the village seemed abandoned from years. Dust and ashes covered almost everything, even the several corpses littering the dirty ground. The blood had dried and turned black, painting the earth in front of them.

Levi tried hard to not touch any of those stains, with small success. He followed Erwin, pointing him the spot from which he saw the village the day before. Erwin was silent and when the group led by Mike appeared from the other side of the village, the wolves met halfway.

_-Mike. What did you find onto the other side?_

_-No one’s around. We found footprints of humans and horses directed south. They camped a few kilometers away from here. They weren’t afraid of being attacked, since they wiped out the entire village. It seems that there were injured ones, and someone died along the way, because Erd found a sort of grave there. Hanji dug that up and found something._

Yeah, leave it to the bat crazy beta to go and do the dirty work.

Now Mike was growling, a deep rumble in the back of his throat. He turned to Hanji, that came forward with a small patch in their mouth. When the beta dropped the improvised bag to the ground, it opened, revealing something that had Erd and Auruo growl.

Erwin’s lips stretched over his fangs, seething, at the sight of a necklace and a small knife made by bones. Levi recognized the design of the objects. Those were items of the like the honey-blonde alpha saw on the hunters he attacked when he met Levi. Those were item made by his brothers’ bones, by his sons’ flesh. The alpha’s ears pointed straight and his hair pricked up in anger.

_-These motherfuckers are Inner Landers, indeed. Like the ones that tried to attack you._

Levi approached his alpha, sensing his distress beside the righteous anger. The wolves’ stressed scents were thick in the air as they mourned together.

Erwin allowed his brothers to cry for the dead, to call for the Forests to protect the livings and lull their sorrow. The honey-blonde wolf raised his head and, with his eyes closed, produced a sad and low note that reverberated in his very being and in the still air for long. One by one, his brothers joined him, in a sorrowful song of voices, their tune slightly different so that any voice was distinguishable and added to the others in a nostalgic melody.

It lasted a few seconds, but Levi could still feel it in his veins, while he helped the other bury the dead wolves. They made quick work in digging graves for their dead brothers, pulling every corpse and giving it the dignity they deserved. The black wolf tuned out every intrusive thoughts, focusing on the task ahead. Lost in his reverie, he almost collided with another wolf while searching for other bodies to bury.

Erwin looked at him with his eyes so very blue and so very sad.

_-Levi, stop. There are no more._

_-…Oh._

_-Come with me, we have to rest and decide how to proceed from now on._

Levi was numb, and when he raised his head to look at his alpha, his back protested from the heavy weights of the corpses he carried all day long. He averted his stormy eyes from the alpha’s clear ones, because he knew that the blonde could read right through him.

Erwin advanced, closing the distance between them and lowered his big head until his furred forehead was leaning against the raven’s one. Their muzzles touched in a familiar contact, and the alpha closed his eyes, breathing deep. And then a soothing rumble emerged from Erwin’s chest. He was crooning to Levi.

_-Come with me, Levi._

The raven allowed the alpha’s presence to calm him, the soft croon like balm in his ears. The vibrations could be perceived through their physical contact, like the lost rumble of the thunder after the storm has passed, promising that the sun would appear again.

When the honey-blonde alpha left to join the rest of his small pack, tucked into one of the buildings that the fire spared, he didn’t even turn to see if the black wolf was following him. He knew his Levi was right beside him.

The two of them returned to their human form and put on the clothes they brought along. Then, with a small fire and the hunger quenched, the group sat in circle and reviewed their plan.

“Tomorrow we’ll follow the trace leading south.” said Erwin, pointing to a small map spread in front of them and circling with his forefinger their actual position. “I don’t know if any other pack has installed in these whereabouts in the last months, but last I know, the nearer pack is the one of Trost village.” and he circled another point over the map.

“By our pace it’s just another day of run.” Said Erd.

“We could have split and run to warn those at Trost.” Commented Gunther, looking at Erwin for an explanation.

“We don’t know if they are headed there, though.” Said Mike, shaking his head. “They may be Inner Landers and shitty hunters, but they would still be able to follow our fresh tracks. And if they have dogs with them, the risk to  be find would be doubled.”

Gunther nodded, sadly recognizing that they could have lead the hunters to Trost, instead of warning their brothers and help them to protect the village.

“We have the benefit of surprise, they don’t know we’re following them. Before reacting in any way, I want to know what their intentions are. We can’t spoil all these efforts just to go back to Pixis with nothing in our hands.” Confirmed Erwin, his eyes scanning the faces of his friends, bathed in orange and yellow light by the crackling fire. “And I don’t want us to split unless strictly necessary. We’re here to survey the situation, we’re not here to attack. We’ve got no one to cover our back this time.”

“So, what? We follow them and see what they do?” asked Auruo shrugging.

“For now, yes.” Replied Erwin. Mike and Erd nodded, Auruo murmured something like “As you want.”

Levi nodded. He understood that even if Erwin’s words could pass for harsh and selfish, the alpha had only their best interest at heart. And he was impressed at how coldly Erwin could decide what to do. Erwin, the strange alpha that always treated Levi with utmost care, always putting others before himself, always ready to sacrifice for the greater good. Levi had rarely seen such a complex human being: selfless and resolute, smart and still a first category doofus, always telling Levi to ask Hanji for embarrassing questions…

And thinking about that… Levi looked around him and saw that the discussion had quieted down, with the wolves talking and relaxing in small groups. He approached Hanji, who was chatting with Petra and cleared his throat.

Hanji turned their head and grinned “Oh, my favorite sylvan dwarf! What can I do for -OUCH!”

Levi punched them over their arm, careful to use his knuckles. Just to be sure to make his point.

“Stingy!” pouted the beta, rubbing at their arm.

Petra rolled her eyes “Come on Hanji, don’t scare him away. How many times do you think he’ll come to you by his own free will?”

Hanji seemed to understand the importance of the event, as their eyes went bigger and they straightened their posture “My, Petra, you’re so right! Tell me, now, little one, what got you all emotionally constipated?”

Petra face-palmed herself. Levi grunted, but decided to postpone Hanji’s punishment by kicking them in the ass so hard, that the sole of his boot could massage their lonely neuron. But first, the lunatic beta had to answer his questions.

The beta looked at the raven batting their long lashes behind dirty goggles. Levi sighed and spoke.

“Well…” he _tch_ -ed, because he didn’t know where to begin. “Lately I noticed that… my-“

“Dick?”

“Wolf!” growled Levi in Hanji’s face “Wolf, Hanji! For fuck’s sake, listen to me before spouting non sense!”

Petra giggled “Do you want to be alone?” asked Levi, respecting his space.

“No, Petra, please. Stay. Or I may kill them. I need someone to stop me.” Said Levi. The strawberry-blonde nodded and sat closer to them to listen.

“What was I saying? Ah, yeah. Lately my _wolf_ part” Levi looked at Hanji, defying them to dare and interrupt him again “is like… growing stronger? Getting more stubborn? I don’t even know how to explain this.” He shrugged “I only know that sometime I wake up with my throat sore, needing to… to howl, to do something, or fuck if I know! My skin’s being itchy like fuck, and sometimes not even a bath can calm the sensation. Not to say that my nose is becoming incredibly sensible! For example…” Levi regarded Hanji again, hating every moment of their conversation, for the beta was  trembling with excitement, their hands fisted in front of their maniac grin “You, stink. And sometimes Erwin’s scent is so strong that my head go dizzy.” He crinkled his nose and  exhaled. There was more, but for now he considered himself satisfied.

Hanji had enough material to make fun of him for the next decades.

In the meantime, Petra had beckoned Gunther to come and sit with them. The male omega listened with interest and exchanged a knowing smile with the girl. Levi’s brow furrowed and was to open his mouth when Hanji spoke.

“Oh, la la!” they said, barely containing their excitement “I know what’s happening, dear. And I can assure you that’s completely normal.”

“Normal for you, maybe, shithead!” snorted the raven, trying to dislodge Hanji’s hand from his shoulder with no success. The beta leaned against him, hugging Levi with one arm and looking at the two omegas.

“Hanji’s saying the truth, Levi. Sometimes this happens in a wolf life.” Assured Gunther. Petra smile was full of motherly comprehension.

“What the actual fuck are you guys saying? Did I catch some shitty wolf-fever?” Levi knew it, damn! With all the good things always came the bad ones. He only hoped he could be cured. Unless he caught the same thing that made Hanji… being Hanji. He was fucking sure he’d be doomed in that case.

“Chill, sonny, Hanji’s here. There’s only one thing that can help you in this predicament. And that thing is a rarity, let me tell you. None of us have actually ever seen it. Some say it’s a legend, others say it doesn’t even exist. A few swore that they saw it, and it was magnificent. ”

Levi looked at Gunther and Petra for help, but the omegas seemed as confused as him.

“I-in what sense it doesn’t exist? I can be cured, right? What’s the thing that can cure me? Speak, you useless messenger of all evil!” Levi was now shaking Hanji, holding them by the arms.

“I tell you if you stop shaking me! Uff, I thought I was going to puke!” Levi gagged next to them, but Hanji cleared their voice and fixed the raven in the eyes “The only thing that can help you in your state, my dear boy, is a big, fat, yummy chunk of Erwin’s dick.”

Levi’s jaw fell, eyes big as saucers, his eyebrows skyrocketing to his hair line. Gunther and Petra were rolling on the floor, laughing their asses out.

Hanji blinked a few times “What, you don’t believe me? It’s clear that your presenting is approaching, and if you want my opinion, it’s obvious that you’re reacting exactly like one of the finest-“ Hanji didn’t finish the word, for Levi launched himself at their throat, growling.

“You! You’re a disgrace, how could I think you would say something useful for once? Why is ‘dick’ your answer to everything?!”

“I’m s-sure Erwin’s dick… c-can save lives!” Hanji wheezed, their throat clenched between Levi’s hands.

“My ass, it can!” growled Levi, his vision going red.

“Or your ass. Definitely.” Replied Hanji.

“What the hell is happening here?” asked Erwin. Wonderful, just the last alpha Levi wanted to see on this filthy planet. The blonde hooked his big hands under Levi’s armpits and pulled the raven against his chest. “Levi, let Hanji go. Bad boy, Levi. You don’t strangle friends!” Levi kicked and wiggled his fingers, trying to reach for the beta’s neck again.

Hanji coughed but pointed the two with both their forefingers “See? I’m always right Levi!” Mike was massaging gently his mate’s neck.

“Always right? Hanji what are you saying? Why did you make Levi want to murder you?” asked Erwin, looking bewildered at Petra and Gunther, still a mess of laughter.

“I was only explaining-“

“Don’t listen!” screamed Levi, and quickly smacked his hands over Erwin’s ears. Maybe with a little too strength, because he practically slapped him.

“Hanj, I think it’s better if you go to sleep-“ suggested Mike, but Hanji promptly interrupted him, hands over their chest, in a hurt expression.

“Never! You won’t interrupt our girl’s night!”

“Girls night?!” repeated Levi, still hang midair by Erwin, his hands enclosing the alpha’s head. “What _girls_ are you blabbering about? Petra’s the only girl here! You are an alien and Gunther and I have that little thing-“

“Dick!” supplied Hanji with a grin.

“Stop saying that, my god you’re a nightmare, I give up.” Levi deflated with a last groan, and finally Erwin put him down.

“Like I was saying, Commander, I was only following your request and answering all the questions that you left Levi with.” The beta held their nose in the air, putting on air.

Erwin stiffened and began to sweat cold “Oh. _Oh._ Well done, then. Levi, listen carefully. I’m going to do the first watch.” And that said, he turned on his heels and marched out of the small hut they were in. The other alphas followed suit, understanding what the ‘girl’s night’ was going to be about.

“Erwin? Guys? Wait, I’ll come with you, too.” Levi called, but Hanji caught him by the hem of his shirt and pulled him beside them again.

“Where do you think you’re going? We’ve just begun…” Levi swallowed, and if he was a lesser man, he would have cried for his alpha, seeing the orange light dancing on Hanji’s goggles and giving them the air of a serial killer.

* * *

 

The next day Levi woke up with the remaining of a headache and the terrible sensation of having his soul figuratively raped by Hanji. The beta and the two omegas had given Levi _The Talk_. Flowers and bees included. He didn’t understand everything, but hoped that time would help him cope with all the news. For now, he felt almost relieved to switch back in his furred form and track down bloody hunters.

Yeah, this was familiar, this he could handle.

So he run in formation once again, letting his thoughts being lulled by the repetitive movements and useless worries being lost in the morning fog. In his wolf form everything was magnified, every sensation, every sense. Levi felt thrilled and alive.

_-They’re going to Trost._

Erwin confirmed at one point, when they covered enough distance from the burnt village to know which direction the hunters took. Mike sniffed the air, looking for the particular smell of the Inner Landers: grease and ashes and blood.

_-Do you think they know where the village is?_

_-No, Mike. I think they’re just advancing and see what they find._

_-Erwin, we got a couple of hours at this pace till the village. Do you want us to go faster?_

_-No Auruo, let’s keep this pace. I don’t want to waste unnecessary energies, moreover, they don’t know the exact position of the pack. We can go straight for the village and warn Reiss, regaining time._

Levi followed the exchange, focusing on every useful detail, but he didn’t know anything about other packs.

_-Hey, shit-for-brain, who’s Reiss?_

_-He’s the Commanding Alpha of Trost pack, my little kitten with a black soul. He’s a middle aged werewolf, and Trost is almost large as our pack. But younger._

_-Younger? What does it mean?_

_-What Hanji’s saying, is that as a young pack, they’re in full reproduction. When werewolves build a new pack, they tend to increase their number._

Mike explained patiently and at Erwin’s sign, the formation changed again, so that Levi was now beside Petra. The strawberry-blonde wolf opened her mouth and barked, laughing.

_-It means that we’ll find a lot of puppies!_

Levi rolled his eyes. Of course the omega was happy to see those small balls of fur. One of the things he learnt during Hanji’s lesson of the night before, was that every omega had a soft spot for pups. Their instincts toward family were strong and even a submissive omega could become dangerous if their pup –or mate, was threatened. Levi’s thoughts were interrupted by Erd, at the extremity of their formation.

_-Fresh traces, they just passed from this point! They must have already arrived at Trost!_

_-Erwin!_

The honey-blonde alpha barked and snapped his impressive jaw, a the only sign of his apprehension.

_-Speed up. We’re going to see what’s happening in Trost. Mike, tell me if someone’s near. Gunther, look around for a good spot to leave our bags. Hanji, ready for the flow of thoughts, block out everyone beside us. If things come to worst, divide in two groups, follow Mike and me._

Erwin gave orders and Levi pumped on his paws, shortening the distance from the danger. He was the fastest of all his group and sometimes the honey-blonde alpha asked him to run forward to check things beforehand. Not this time, though.

_-Levi, you stick to me at all time. That clear?_

_-Yes, sir._

It wasn’t the moment to question an order, still he knew that Erwin knew he could handle himself in a fight. The raven thought that all this matter was worrying his alpha more than usual. Or maybe, Levi didn’t see so far ahead as him. Either way, the black wolf exchanged position with Auruo and advanced with their commanding alpha.

Gunther pointed a good spot under a big fir where they could hide their bags. Every wolf put down his load and got in formation once again. The sun was setting and they run the last meters with cold blood and a growl in their throat, because as the Forest cleared, the cool wind carried pungent smells and high screams.

Erwin breached through the last trees to see the coming night light by the fire burning the village down, already high. In front of the wolves stood a raw of hunters, giving them their backs, retaining half a dozen of hounds. The dogs sensed them before their humans, and barked angrily pulling at their lashes, their fangs red with blood. But the werewolves didn’t slow down, didn’t stop to look at the dogs twice, poor beasts forced to hunt their wild cousins. Erwin was the first to charge against the men, tearing a hunter’s throat open. His thoughts authoritative and primitive flew to his comrades through the mind connection.

**_-Avenge your brothers! We’re the Forest, collect the lives they stole!_ **

Levi was a black lightening darting from hunter to hunter, clawing at their tendons to make them fall and allowing Petra to end the work. Levi was the arrow and Erwin was the bow that shot him. They made quick work of the few men guarding the hunters’ supplies and the strange carriage they brought along: it was a cage built on a small handcart, and inside there were a couple of wailing pups. Auruo and Erd went to free the small wolves, destroying with their fangs and claws the bars. Without the men controlling them and after a few clashes with Erwin’s alphas, the dogs calmed down, roaming the border of the village and carefully avoiding other confronts with the wild beasts.

While Hanji and Gunther helped some of the wolves to run toward the Forest, Erwin turned to assess the state of the village: confusion reigned everywhere, corpses already spread on the ground. The hunters have set fire to the nearest cabins and were surely headed towards the inner huts.

_-Brother! Permission to split!_

_-Granted. Mike, you go down that direction. Kill as many as you can, but don’t put your life in danger. The village before was outnumbered by this Inner Landers, but now there are more of us. Watch out for arrows._

Mike nodded and sprinted away, followed by his mate, Erd and Gunther.

Levi passed his pink tongue over his muzzle, tasting the dirt of ground and the copper of blood. He spit gore. Erwin looked at him with intensity and that was enough to make him run again near the alpha, towards the center of the village, where the thick smoke came from.

Levi made sure that every man Erwin knocked down, would never stand again. He maimed limbs, bit calves, slashed soft flash, his fur drenched in red life oozing from his victims. If he stopped for a moment, he’d have gagged. But right now he was a black fury, his instincts in a frenzy, guiding him through that massacre. Along the way, they united with Trost wolves. They had been surrounded, caught between hunters and fire. But then the humans were falling like trees thanks to Erwin and Auruo. The alphas they saved, stayed and fought beside them, while omegas and betas took their pups inside the Forest, where the others survivors awaited.

Any wolf that they encountered recognized Erwin as the Commanding Alpha, following Levi’s example and killing every human they encountered. What kept Levi fighting was the realization that Erwin had been right all along: those Inner Landers scums were here to stole pups from their parents. More than once he had to knock down a man holding whining cubs under their arms, or worse, in rough bags.

Luckily, Erwin’s group was trained and their thoughts were clear even in such a situation, so they could help Trost pack. Levi didn’t want to think what he’d do in a similar situation, with your home burning down and your family at risk of being kidnapped, or killed. _What if Erwin-_ he shook his head, in this form all he felt was amplified. They had just cleared another spot, when Levi heard it. It was faint, but the raven could distinctly identify a pup’s cry coming from behind fuming ruins.

Something strange compelled him to move, calling at the very core of his being. Levi didn’t even realize he was running until he heard Petra’s worried bark, the connection with his friends slowly fading. All he knew was that something _–someone_ , was calling desperately at him and Levi desired to have wings on his back, so that he could fly to them, instead of climbing debris and crossing the fire still alight, burning his lungs and his eyes.

He howled in response of that cry. _Resist, hold on, I’m coming._

He was so focused, he didn’t even realize that someone was right behind him.


	8. Instincts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin didn’t know why, but it felt so good and so right listening to Levi complaining about Eren and Armin. Maybe Petra and Gunther were right. Maybe he did gain more than he ever imagined, from all this mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aloha, to all of you my darlings!  
> Thank you sooOOoo much for all the good feebacks this fic has received!  
> Today finally enter Eren and Armin, my two lovely babies!  
> A little warning for the gore at the beginning of the chapter! It's just a little bit, but you can forgive me for the final fluff <3 (yes I admit that I wrote the previous 7 chapters for this moment!! I got no excuses)

Under the debris of a collapsed home, a woman’s body was wedged face down, trapped under heavy wooden beams. She wasn’t moving anymore. In front of her corpse, an old grey werewolf was still standing after being severely injured: he was bleeding from his head and abdomen, and was limping showily.

Yet he still had the tenacity to fight and keep at distance two hunters, curling his lips over his canines and flatting his ears in a menacing way. All to protect two wailing pups behind him. One of them was a clear blonde, with intense blue eyes, his little tail between his legs and his ears flat against his skull, terrified. The other one seemed a little stronger, his fur a dark chocolate brown, and was trying to pull the woman out from the fallen house, apparently unaware of the fact that she had already passed.

One of the hunters held a knife with a long curved blade, swiping the air in front of him to keep the old grey wolf at bay. The other human circled him and stretched an arm to grab the blond pup. The grey wolf snapped his jaws and shifted his stance, placing himself in front of the two little wolves.

“Go to hell, damned mutt!” swore the hunter with the knife. “Connor, what the fuck are you doing? I’m tired of this sack of fleas!”

His companion replied out of breath “If you did a better job, I could bring those little bastards!” he was trying to grab the little pup, but the grey wolf stood his ground. He was able to defend himself and the cubs, slashing his claws and trying to injure their assailants. The grey beast was tired and blood still dripped from his fur, draining his strength.

At one point, the hunter named Connor tried to grab the blond little wolf again and the grey wolf turned his big head to bite him, but the knife of the other hunter cut right through his snout, and with a terrible wail and a gush of red blood, the grey wolf collapsed to the ground “Fucking finally!” screamed the man that lead the hit and started to kick the old beast into his ribcage, onto his head and muzzle, with the hate that sadly, characterizes humans “Take this, you filthy animal! The next time you won’t waste my time anymore!”

Without the grey wolf to defend him, the blonde pup was easily scooped up by his nape by the Connor guy and even if the little wolf was afraid, he tried to defend himself, biting and scratching “Stop, you damned…! Stop I said!” the human shook violently the little blonde wolf, who cried in pain. In the other hand the human held a big sack, in which he was trying to put his prey.

In that moment, the other pup left the woman alone, his attention caught by the call of the little blonde wolf. The brown furred pup sprinted towards the hunter’s leg, and snapped his jaws around his calf, preventing him to put inside the bag the little wolf.

“ARGH! This little mothefucker…! You’ll pay for this, I don’t care if they want you alive, I swear I’ll skin you alive right here!” the hunter tried to shook the brown furred cub from his limb, but the little wolf was stubborn and held on.

“Connor, what the hell are you-“ but the hunter that was raging over the poor grey werewolf couldn’t end the phrase, because in front of him appeared a big black mass, and suddenly a lancinating pain obscured his senses. He collapsed in the dirt holding his face in his hands, blood gushing out from three deep cuts that scarred his cheek and ended on the forehead.

The black wolf that turned to face the second hunter was furious. His eyes were a storm of blue and grey, with a wild light in them. From his uncovered impressive canines, dripped fresh blood and saliva. To appear bigger, the wolf was arching his back and his fur was erected in his righteous rage.

“W-What kind of beast-“ the human tried to grab the knife secured at his belt, but with one hand still occupied holding the pup, and his leg clamped in the small mouth of the little brown werewolf, he was a fraction of a second too slow.

And that allowed Levi all the time he needed to charge and launch himself on the hunter’s chest, transfixing him with his powerful claws. He barked, furious, in his face. Spit and gore flew all over the hunter’s face and the man froze in horror. He let go of the pup he was holding and tried to move the heavy beast that was crashing his breath. But Levi didn’t budge.

**_-DIE, you filth of the earth! Die a thousand deaths, for killing my brothers and stealing my pups!_ **

The raven wolf screamed with all his being through the connection, and felt his comrades’ shiver in fear on the back of his mind. He didn’t care, not now.

With a sudden movement, Levi sank his teeth into the soft flesh of the man’s throat, flexing his jaw muscles around the pulsing heat of his jugulars. Blood flooded in his mouth and like the wild beast that he was, Levi reveled in the sensation. This fucking scam had to learn not to threaten their littles.

_-Levi!_

The raven released the man in time to see Auruo flashing in front of him and knock down the first hunter that was hit by Levi. The man had the strength to walk even after he’d been injured, but now the ash-blonde wolf took care of him, making sure that he wouldn’t move anymore. The alpha must have followed him and Levi didn’t even realize it, but now he was glad of his presence.

_-Are you crazy? Do you know what kind of risk you ran?! If something happened to you… Erwin would be devastated. And Petra, too._

Auruo seemed really concerned and Levi thanked him for saving his stupid ass. What Levi did was really irresponsible: launching himself after some unknown danger, even when Erwin recommended to stick together. To not leave his side. But for the first time since he was thrown into this werewolves world, he realized what had moved Erwin that fateful day, when the alpha attacked Levi and the Inner Landers in the Forest.

For the first time, Levi felt under his skin the ancient call of the Forest, of the wild and raw life that burned inside his veins and that lighted him like a thunder, transforming him in the very claws and fangs of the Forest itself.

_-I’m sorry, you’re right. But they needed us. Check the old one. The woman’s already gone._

_-Who’s this?_

_-Dunno, but he was protecting the pups._

The two little werewolves were whining and whimpering beside the old wolf. Auruo lowered his head and patted with his muzzle the grey wolf cheek. He was tired, his breath labored and the blood still hadn’t stopped. The grey wolf knew he didn’t have much left, but his eyes still held a speck of life. He turned to Levi and Auruo with a pleading look, then to the younglings.

_-Shhhh, little ones, it’s all right._

_-No, Granpa!_

_-Granpa, don’t leave us! Mother’s dead, too!_

Levi cringed, feeling for the first time the lost minds of the two pups. They were still wailing as the life crawled away from the brave old wolf. The little blonde one kept patting his paws over the grey furred muzzle in vain.

_-What are we going to do without you, Granpa? Where will we go?_

Levi didn’t know what he was doing, but it came as natural as breathing. He approached the two pups and waited for them to be calm enough to hear him. The night had finally fallen, but the orange light of the fires alighted the remainder of the village in a surreal way. Werewolves had higher body temperature, but Levi shivered, so he put his forelegs around the two little werewolves and lowered his head so that he could encase them into a loose hug. His mind flow was soft and calm once again.

_-Ehy, you two. We need to join the main pack. Come on, guys, maybe we’ll find someone that knows you and that-_

_-No._

_-Granpa was the one who took care of me._

_-And my mother’s gone._

Auruo was still keeping an eye on the surroundings, but by now the alpha was sure his comrades and the other werewolves took care of any hunter left. The ash-blond alpha shuffled nearer.

_-Levi, we have to go. Don’t worry for the pups, some omega will take them in. In these cases, instincts kick in and mothers that lost their sons will provide for the orphans._

The black wolf nodded, feeling something clenching around his stomach. He looked down at the two haggard pups and felt like he needed to make sure that they were there with him, maybe shocked and beyond sad, but safe. So Levi lowered his head and rubbed affectionately against the littles inhaling their scent: under the fear and the blood, there was the fresh smell of the Forest. They were so young!

_-Come with me, I’ll take you back. Can you walk? Yes? Good boys._

And softly Levi coaxed the two pups in following him. The brown furred one stopped a moment to look back at the still figure of his mother, buried under the debris of his home. He sniffed and from his teal eyes fell one big tear.

_-You’ve been brave. You protected your brother._

_-I couldn’t protect her._

_-Neither could I. But I’ll protect you two._

Levi admitted with bitterness. If only he had heard them a few instants before…maybe the gray wolf could be still alive. When Auruo spotted his mate and the rest of their group, he ran forward to calm them and explain what happened. Petra was very happy to see that they both were fine, Hanji was relieved too, and the others were a different level of angry. But Erwin was livid.

He advanced toward Levi and growled low, his light blue eyes hard. Through their connection, Levi could feel how worried he was, the fear when he discovered Levi and Auruo where gone. But the black wolf didn’t avert his eyes, didn’t submit to the alpha: he knew that he did the right thing in separating from his pack to save the pups. But he was ready to admit that this decision had been hasty and selfish.

For a moment, Levi went back at the memory of Erwin changing him, suffocated in a fog of rage. He shared the memory and the sensations that came with his realization with his alpha, hoping that he understood. When he heard the little cubs’ call, nothing could have stopped him from going to them.

The intensity of those emotions calmed a little of Erwin’s anger and Levi felt the other wolves weighing the reasons behind his reckless actions. That didn’t stop the alpha to reprimand him.

_-What did you think you were doing? Do you know how worried we were? I recommended to stay together, to stay with me, and the first thing that you do is run away by yourself?! How can I trust you, when you-_

_-Don’t scold Mama._

_-Mama saved us, without Levi they’d have killed us._

Erwin’s eyes widened for the shock, feeling two new voices through the connection. When the alpha lowered his sight, he saw two pair of big eyes peeking from behind Levi’s forelegs.

_-Please, don’t be mad at Mama._

_-…Mama?_

_-Levi, what does it mean?_

_-What does it mean to you? You’re the alpha. You tell me._

_\- I’m Eren, and this one is Armin. Are you Levi’s alpha?_

The two pups were firing question after question, Hanji was rolling on the ground in a fit of laughter and Mike looked amused at the scene. Petra was giggling like mad and Auruo was speaking with Erd and Gunther, that just came back from the Forest, where the survivors of Trost pack were resting.

Erd approached the honey-blonde alpha to update him on the situation.

_-Erwin, we evacuated the village. Every uninjured alpha and beta was put into small squads and either sent to patrol the surroundings or recover food. We won’t have a roof over our head tonight, but we found a good spot near the river. We proceeded to light small fires and provide the first aid to the injured ones –wait. And who are this two?_

The alpha noticed Eren and Armin. The two pups shrank back, pressing against Levi. The black wolf rolled his eyes and sat, putting his tail protectively around the two little wolves. The pups were still upset and Levi’s instincts told him that they needed to stay with him, with a familiar face, not some random nosy alpha –well, if the black wolf could consider himself ‘familiar’ to the pups, since he just met them too. Still, he didn’t fight his wolf part, compelling him to protect Armin and Eren.

_-They’re with me, Erd. They had been attacked by the hunters. Kids, this one is Erd, an alpha of Erwin’s pack. He’s a not an asshole, so you can trust him. Not like crazy Goggles there, that went nuts after eating too many squirrels._

_-Do squirrels make your tummy hurt, Mama?_

_-Dunno, Armin. Better don’t risk, anyway._

_-Are Goggles going to make us eat squirrels so that our brains go bad, too? So that they won’t be the only special one!_

_-No, Eren. But don’t speak to them, maybe it’s contagious._

_-Oh, no no no! Levi, you selfish sack of shi_ \- shining feelings! _Introduce me to your babies in the right way! Hi guys, I’m Hanji, Levi’s best friend! And I don’t eat too many squirrels, their meat is stringy and they’re difficult to catch, since they always stay on the trees!_

The pups greeted Hanji, and their minds were light and soft and colorful through the connection. Distracted by the adult wolves, Levi was able to lead them into the Forest, leaving the lost village at their back. Hanji kept laughing and asking things to Eren and Armin, making them forgetting the awful facts of the past hours.

Erwin had been silent during the brief walk toward the improvised camp, werewolves in both their animal and human form going right and left to tend to the injured ones. The honey-blonde alpha was relieved that all his comrades were fine, but he still resented Levi for disobeying him.

He didn’t want to think about what he would do if something bad happened to the raven. Luckily Auruo followed him. Petra’s mate had already told what happened to Erwin and they all agreed that the black wolf was behaving oddly: Levi rarely cared for others, why would he wanted to take care of cubs?

Petra and Gunther approached Erwin. The strawberry blonde omega spoke first.

_-Don’t worry, Commander. We’re all fine, and we were able to prevent those hunters to steal the pups and the omegas of this pack._

_-Yeah. But they paid a high cost._

_-That couldn’t be helped, Erwin. Think about what would happen if we didn’t come. Just to say, Levi’s pups wouldn’t be here!_

_-Those aren’t Levi’s pups. They’re orphans and some other omega will come to take good care of them…_

_-I’m not so sure, Commander. For being one of the most brilliant people I know, you can be surprisingly dense sometimes._

The two omegas were fixing the young alpha like he was an idiot. Erwin snorted, annoyed. Gunther barked a laugh, not sorry for insulting his leading alpha.

_-Commander, in a few weeks we’ll have a full moon. We omegas are already feeling its influence, making our instincts revved. Petra and me don’t have any pup and we’re bonded and mated, so we would be the ideal substitutes to be those pups’ new parents. But neither of us felt any pull. Our instincts didn’t compel us to go and claim them as ours, because they don’t need us. They have already found the wolf that will take them in._

Erwin was looking at Gunther with shallow eyes. Yes, he heard what the dark wolf said and he was sure that he knew the language he spoke in, too. But his brain didn’t seem to collaborate. He was distracted from his non-thoughts by Petra’s soft giggles.

_-Look, Gunther, the almighty Commander Perfection rendered speechless! He left the village with a sort-of-mate and returns with a sort-of-family!_

_-Petra, what the hell are you saying?!_

_-Come on, brother, chill and realize it. But hurry, because I’m sure Hanji would be overjoyed to help you realize it in their own way._

Erwin cringed at the thought, but  the calming presence of Mike helped him out of his reverie. Before thinking of a name for all the mess he put himself in since he found Levi, Erwin wanted to secure the pack, so he quickly found the Reiss family to spoke with the Commanding Alpha. Unfortunately, one of Reiss’ daughters told him that the family head died during the first attack to the village, leaving them without a leader.

So Erwin and Mike gathered the elders of Trost pack to spoke with them: the two young alphas offered the protection of their pack –Pixis’ pack, until they would be ready to go and rebuilt their own new village. They couldn’t stay there, not when human knew the location of the pack.

_-If you come with us, you can rest and reorganize before looking for a new place. Pixis would be fine with that, I’m sure. Moreover, he’d want to listen to your stories to better understand what’s happened here. Today we stopped that hunting party, but we don’t know when those humans are going to attack again. The wisest thing to do, would be to unite forces and resolve this annoying problem before we split again._

The old werewolves that were listening to Erwin agreed on this solution, and they decided to head back to Pixis’ pack the next morning. For now, they all wanted to sleep and forget the horrible events of the day.

Erwin organized shifts of alphas to guard the improvised camp. Around him, the tired werewolves had already settled, someone under thick trees, other near rocks. Omegas kept their pups near, still afraid of losing them. Erwin saw the corpse of a couple of cubs in the village, and the memory still hurt like those were his own sons. Such were a werewolf instincts.

He shook his big head and followed Mike towards the spot that Gunther and Petra had chosen for their small group to sleep. It was well repaired thanks to the uneven ground, that created a sort of basin under a group of pines and not far away was one of the fires that the werewolves put on to make food, and that now burned low. The ground was covered in dry leaves and moss, not as comfortable as a bed, but good enough.

Mike and Erwin passed Auruo and Petra and Erd and Gunther, already asleep. Mike lay down beside Hanji, that was the nearest to Levi, curled in himself, his blue-gray eyes shining in the far light of the fire. The black wolf raised his head and cocked it on the side.

_-So? What did you decide?_

_-We’re going back tomorrow morning. Everyone. The elders accepted to go see Pixis and speak with him about this. We’ll protect each other, in this way._

Levi nodded and snorted, as a little paw came out from between his forelegs. Erwin lowered his sight and noticed that caged by the raven’s front paws and his waist, were sleeping the two pups. The chocolate brown one, Eren, having a very agitated sleep.

Erwin snorted, amused, and something really warm crawled from his chest to his throat, closing it. He looked at the raven wolf and the two pups that, in Petra and Gunther’s opinion, chose Levi as their new mother. The honey-blonde alpha curled beside Levi, shielding the little wolves with his figure and providing more warmth.

_-How are you feeling, Levi?_

_-…Why are you asking me?_

_-Because you seem tired._

_-I ran around biting fucking human asses all day long, I’m allowed to be tired. And then those two happened. They were so filthy that I made them take a damned bath. Then I made them eat something, and god help me, we were back to the fucking drawing board. I had to wash them in the river again._

Erwin didn’t know why, but it felt so good and so right listening to Levi complaining about Eren and Armin. Maybe Petra and Gunther were right. Maybe he did gain more than he ever imagined, from all this mess. The honey-blonde alpha snorted again, amused and licked Levi’s forehead. The black wolf hissed against him.

_-Stop that! What are you, a two years old? I’ve got my paws full with this two._

_-Sorry, sorry. So… would you…you know. Like to bring them back home? With us?_

The black wolf shot him a look.

_-Are you fucking kidding me and really asking me this?_

_-…Uh uh, I- yes. I suppose?_

_-Of-fucking-course I’m keeping them! What do you want me to do? Abandon them? Leaving them here in the mid of the Forest?_

_-Well, obviously not! But maybe some other omega could take care of them…_

Levi snapped his jaw at Erwin, shutting him up. The reaction told the alpha everything he needed to know: the pups had subconsciously chosen Levi as a parent and the raven accepted them as his own. Erwin knew that in these circumstances a werewolf instincts were absolute.

Eren turned again in his sleep, kicking Levi in his jaw. The black wolf snorted and rolled his eyes, but nuzzled the pup until he quieted again. Armin was sleeping like a log and Erwin could feel the relief in Levi, for the small honey-blonde cub seemed much more scared than the other one by all this.

_-They cried again a little bit, before sleeping._

_-I think that’s natural. Today they saw their loved ones die before their eyes and their homes destroyed by hunters. But time will heal any pain, hopefully. And now they have you._

_-And you, you lazyass alpha! Don’t you even dare leaving it all to me! Man up, and take your responsibilities!_

Hissed Levi, but his words didn’t hold any edge to them.

_-Of course, Levi. I’ll gladly help you._

Erwin lowered his big head over his paws, turned so that he could see Armin and Eren sleep. Levi, that could not take the same position, leaned against his alpha, sighing and finally closing his eyes, surrounded once again from his family.

He often thought about Mikasa and his uncle, but he didn’t hold a grudge against Erwin anymore. Sure, he’d like to go and see them again, just to tell them that he was fine… because he knew that Kenny would forever fell responsible for what had happened. And maybe one day Levi will go back to Shiganshina and tell them that finally he found a place where he felt whole, where his abilities were truly needed and appreciated, where every day was different from another.

And feeling the small minds of Eren and Armin, their quick heartbeats and the steady breath of Erwin, Levi wasn’t able to curse the events that had brought him there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who can guess what will happen on the full moon? Eh? Who?? *o*  
> I know you are waiting for the next chapter since this fic began, because the rating will change, too!  
> Stop with the spoilers, see you on the next chapter :*


	9. Full Moon – part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi sighed, satisfied for now, and nuzzled against Erwin’s neck. Again. Then he felt Erwin quicken his stride, until he was honestly running towards their home, opening the door with a kick and closing it behind them with a loud slam. Levi was confused, but his wolf shivered in pleasure as the alpha showed his strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys!! I’m so sorry for this super late update!!! I fear that until September I won’t be able to update regularly…  
> But this chapter is a bit longer and we have some time lapses and a lot of fluff, like… a lot.  
> WARNING: in the end we have mild gore, angst and an attempt at non-con (more like heavy sexual harassment?) …it’s NOT rape and it’s only an ATTEMPT, fear not, my Darlings!! You know me, I’m too much a softy for letting such a thing happen ç_ç  
> On a brighter note, I want to hug every one of you who left a comment, you really make my day <3 <3  
> But now go on, read and most importantly, let me know if you liked this!!

_-Are we there yet?_

_-No._

_-How long ‘til we’re home?_

_-Erwin said tomorrow._

_-Mama…are we there yet?_

_-I just told you we’re not._

_-…Are we-_

_-Eren, if you ask me again if we’re arrived, I swear I’ll take you to Hanji and make you listen to them blabbing about nothing until your ears bleed._

Levi snorted at his pup, shutting him up. Armin laughed, seeing Eren sulking, so he approached his friend. Well, sibling, since Levi adopted the both of them.

_-Come on, Eren, let’s go and play with Sasha and Marco._

Eren rolled his eyes and pouted. Sasha and Marco were some of the cubs of Trost that were now travelling with them to Pixis’ pack, that was situated far inside the Forest.

_-But if we go find Marco, there will be that werehorse of Jean!_

_-If you stopped calling him names, maybe you could get along._

_-But Armin! He’s so stupid, with that long face of his and that strange color of hair and his stupid way of barking even if he’s speaking with his human-horse mouth-_

_-Eren, shut your trap, or I’m calling Hanji. Now follow your brother and go play or do whatever it is that you wanna do. I need to go and speak to Erwin. Stay where I can see you._

Eren huffed again and regarded Levi with an offended look, but followed suit the blonde pup, as Armin trotted away towards the center of their moving pack, where the little wolves were yapping and playing with each other, surrounded by adults.

The black wolf sighed. They had been marching through the Forest for the last three days: moving such a huge number of wolves required time, more so with pups and still slightly injured wolves in the group.

Erwin’s squad supervised the moving, taking care that no traces of their passage were left. Levi and other fast wolves had the task to run ahead and report what kind of obstacles the bigger pack would find in its way, so that they could travel safely.

It had only been three days, but when Levi turned his head to see were Armin and Eren were, he immediately recognized his pups between the others. He spoke to Petra and Gunther, and the two omegas told him that the strong need he felt, to always have the two little wolves near, was due to the new bond. Moreover, they said that during their first years, pups were heavily depending on their parents. The fact that Armin and Eren lost their family and bonded to Levi in a time near the full moon, exasperated the black wolf’s need of proximity.

Okay, sighed Levi, so he wasn’t an overbearing parent, it was all this damned full moon thingy fault, yeah.

_-No, no, Shorty, I can tell you’re a mother hen from miles away!_

Hanji’s intrusion in his thoughts made Levi growl.

_-Shut it, walking nightmare, who asked for your opinion._

_-Tut, tut. You’re so lost in denial, I fear someday you’ll wake up thinking you’re still a boring human, my friend._

_-I’m not your friend._

_-Yes you are. And you’re in denial, Levi. The sooner you realize you’re a doting parent, the sooner you’ll be able to get down and dirty to finally have that piece of Erwin you’re so thirsty for!_

Levi scrambled on his four legs, and butted his head against Hanji’s side to try and stop them from speaking.

_-Hanji! Watch your fucking mouth! There are children that listen now, you perverted four eyes!_

Levi could feel the little heads of his pups turning to look at them, a question in their soft mind. Luckily they were still innocent and half distracted by playing with their friends, so the awkward moment didn’t last too much. Soon Eren was running with Armin around, yapping happily.

Levi snapped his jaw towards Hanji, who barked a laugh and run with him ahead, where Erwin and Mike were leading the pack.

Erwin immediately felt the tension in Levi, as the black wolf approached him, and nuzzled behind his ear to comfort him. He had felt the exchange between him and the beta through their mind connection, but didn’t push for questions, since he felt guilty he couldn’t stay with Levi and the pups. Leading such a big number of wolves were not an easy task, they had to be sure no one was following them and Erwin and Mike kept running back and forth to make sure that their traces were taken care of.

_-Is it hard with the pups?_

_-It’s not easy. But Hanji’s not making it simpler. I think I’ll be able to rest only when we’re home._

_-Aw, come on, Levi! I know you love me! Eren and Armin love me! They’re sooo sweet, I can’t understand how they would chose a boring parent like you. They could have chosen me…_

The beta pouted and Mike bumped them in their side, snickering amused. But Levi scoffed.

_-You would have killed them, never bathing them, always making them eat anything they wanted… Holy Forest, I couldn’t have left them with you even if you found them first!_

_-Aaw, that’s my mother hen speaking!_

Levi snorted, hanging his head low, defeated. He raised his blue-grey eyes and begged his alpha.

_-Erwin…are we there yet?_

* * *

 

They had made it. Erwin was able to guide his squad and the remaining of Trost pack back to Pixis’. The honey-blonde alpha immediately went to speak to their Commanding Alpha, and together with Trost Elders decided their temporary arrangement in the village. Pixis’s pack was a lot smaller than Trost, so the village swarmed with werewolves now, but the situation was welcomed by most of the wolves.

While Erwin and his squad updated Pixis, Levi went straight home to take care of Eren and Armin and finally take a fucking bath. He wanted to wash the pups first, but the little ones cried and run away every time the raven tried to get them to switch back to human form.

“Come on, boys, you need a bath! We walked for four _freaking_ days straight! Soap has never killed anyone! _Eren_ , come back here! No, no _Armin_! Bad boy, you don’t hide under the sofa, you’ll get dirtier!” the pups wailed and scratched Levi’s arms until the raven gave up.

“Okay, okay. I understand. I won’t force you to turn, but I’m not keeping you two inside this house without giving you a bath. So hop into the tub and I swear I’ll skin you alive, if you make more mess!” Armin gulped, his tail between his legs and his ears low, but obeyed and let himself be washed. Eren followed suit, even if he fought when Levi tried to wash his muzzle.

Even if the two pups had splattered mud everywhere and drove Levi mad, the black wolf couldn’t really hold a grudge against them. He realized that the two pups were still afraid of humans and Levi even thought to switch back to his wolf form… at least he could have heard their thoughts, instead of wreaking his brain trying to understand what they wanted.

Levi sighed, and dried as best as he could Armin’s fur with a towel. Eren sate and cuddled to his side, already wrapped in his towel. Well, the black wolf thought that if he didn’t spook his pups when he turned human, he could stay in his actual form. Maybe it could help the little wolves accustom to humans again gradually.

“Come on guys, it’s bed time.” Levi pulled Armin against his chest and the little wolf pushed his wet nose in the crook of Levi’s neck. Eren trotted aside, but stopped in the middle of the sitting room, and whined, looking at the door.

“Erwin will come back shortly, brat, don’t worry. He brought his eyebrows to take a stride, they need constant attention. In fact, I provide for you two, and he for his caterpillar eyebrows.” Said Levi, and resumed walking towards the only bedroom in Erwin’s den.

Eren barked a laugh and even Armin had an amused light in his big blue eyes. Levi sat on the bed and pulled the sheets.

“Hop on, Eren, stop wandering. Armin get under the covers. We’ll try to fit all together in here tonight, so no kicks.” He shot a warning look to Eren, whose ears flicked backwards in guilt. Levi sighed and rose, he had still some things to do before going to bed. They had been gone for almost a week and dust coated every fucking corner. Levi’s skin prickled in uneasiness.

Levi was forced to stop by Armin gnawing at his sleeve and Eren’s sharp whine. “…Okay, I’m staying. Let me go and turn off the candles, first. But if I come back and find you made a pigsty out of my bed, you’ll end up at the feet like lap dogs. Is that clear?” the two pups curled quietly in the center of the bed, and Levi went to the sitting room. He left only one candle alight for Erwin, so that the big oaf didn’t trip over his stupid feet and then went back to his pups.

Soon the two twerps curled around him, making every blanket unnecessary thanks to their warm furs. Alone with his pups, the raven didn’t wait to hug them back, slipping his arms under their hot belly and scratching the soft fur.

Before sleep took him, Levi thought that that was the first time he’d sleep in the same bed with Erwin since their argument about his shifting. Well, that could have been the king of awkward moments, but thanks to Armin and Eren, he felt that this arrangement was the most natural of all.

* * *

 

Erwin closed the book he was reading and rose from the couch. Levi had already put the pups to bed and since he wasn’t coming back, the alpha thought he joined the little ones and fell asleep. His raven had his hands full with Armin and Eren: they still hadn’t changed back and sometimes it was very difficult to interact, so he or Levi shifted to their wolf form to speak with the children.

Erwin sighed and blow the last candle off, walking towards the bedroom. He understood why Levi chose to not force the pups transformation, but he was beginning to worry. Spending too much time in one form or the other, was never a good idea. Especially for instable beings like children.

When he set foot in the bedroom, Erwin smiled at the image that had already become normalcy since they came back from Trost: Levi’s slim form relaxed on his side of the bed, with Armin and Eren variously sprawled over him. Tonight Eren chose to rest his dark brown head over Levi’s side, his body molding against his Mama’s legs. Armin had his muzzle in Eren’s neck, one of Levi’s hand rested over his back.

The first night that the blonde alpha found the three wolves nestled on his bed, he panicked, asking himself what to do. Then Levi had opened one of his eyes, as he always did, and called for him. That made all the uncertainties melt away. Tonight was no different.

“… Erwin?” called Levi from the bed. He always felt when the other man entered their room.

“Yes, it’s me.” Replied the alpha, already changing into his bed clothes.

Levi yawned and the pups shifted in their sleep “Nh. Candles all blown out?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, go back to sleep.” Replied in a whisper and tried not to jostle the trio while getting on the bed. As he lay down, Armin stretched and changed position, reclaiming Erwin’s warm chest from himself. Erwin chuckled and brought an arm over the small wolf. “Goodnight, Levi.”

Erwin loved the feeling of his mind slipping into sweet oblivion, lulled by the soft breathing of the three wolves.

* * *

 

“Mama! Mama wake up, Erwin says breakfast is ready.”

“Come on Levi, I’m so hungry I could eat a whole antelope! Pleeease, Mama!”

Levi squeezed his eyes. He was still tired and his bones ached like a rhino walked over him and the blankets were so warm, that he didn’t plan to leave the bed anytime soon. Yet he sniffed the yummy smell coming from the kitchen and his stomach growled, interested.

“Mamaaaa!” Eren whined again and soon the mattress dipped, a clear sign that the pup was climbing his way to Levi. “If you don’t come with me now, I’m gonna eat your eggs, too!”

“No, you won’t Eren. You’ll get tummy ache.”

“But I’m super hungry, Armin! Mama!” Eren’s little hands shook Levi’s shoulder, trying to wake his Mama up. The raven grunted and he noticed that even his throat ached. Was he ill? But he didn’t leave the house in the last days, he kept the pups warm and safe inside Erwin’s den, since the last days of autumn brought with them long hours of pouring rain.

“Eren, Armin… go on and start eating.” Levi croaked, curling on himself even more. The bed dipped again and this time Armin’s little hand went to rest over his forehead. Levi chuckled and open his grey-blue eyes.

“Mama, you have a fever?” chirped Armin with his tiny voice. Levi blinked and focused: in front of him was a 6 years old child, with shoulder length golden hair. His eyes were big and blue, a shade darker than Erwin’s one, but Levi thought that Armin could very well be his alpha’s secret baby. Armin’s little mouth was bent in a serious line.

“What is it, Ar? Is Mama not feeling well?” Eren bent down to look Levi in the eyes, a couple of inches between their noses. Eren skin was darker, a rich caramel that made the stunning teal of his eyes stand out more. His expressive eyebrows were knitted together, almost hidden by an unruly mop of chocolate brown hair.

“Calm down boys, I’m fine, don’t worry.” Assured Levi, finally sitting on the bed. He felt a little guilty to scare his pups, since they were still so upset. Losing your family this young could be a big trauma, and Levi was worried that they had still to shift to their human-

“Wait a moment…” Levi’s eyes went as big as saucers, realizing that Armin and Eren had finally decided to show themselves as humans “You two…”

The little wolves’ tails were wagging happily, seeing as their Mama was fine. Eren yapped and bounced on the bed, Armin smiled and sat on his haunches, relieved. “A-are you two… fine?” Levi blinked, not believing that he finally met his pups!

“We’re more than okay, Mama!” Eren exclaimed and pounced Levi, hugging his waist and wagging the tail like mad. “Are you happy that finally we turned back?” Levi’s arm slipped around Eren on instinct, but before replying he lifted his head to watch Armin, that was still sitting composed in front of him, but subtly shifting the weight on his legs. Levi opened his other arm and the blond pup caught immediately the invite, encircling his small arms around his Mama’s neck and nuzzling against him.

Levi squeezed his babies, finally able to see their human features, to feel them hugging him… he swallowed around the lump in his throat, as he inhaled the familiar scent.

“You two… good job.” Levi scruffed his pups’ ears “I’m very proud of you. But now, breakfast.” He said, as Eren laughed and run towards the kitchen “Wash your filthy paws, brat!” called Levi, gently lifting Armin up and on his own side. The blonde pup was still hiding his face in the raven’s neck, and Levi drew small circles over his back. “Well done, sweetheart. You were great in helping me taming your brother. He’s an animal.”

Armin laughed through his nose and raised his mushroom head. He smiled to Levi even if his thick lashes were wet with unshed tears “Thank you, Mama. I was really scared, I thought that we… could never…” he shrugged and Levi pulled him closer, sitting on his chair at the little kitchen table.

“Shh, sweetheart, it’s all right. Don’t think about ‘what ifs’ anymore. Now we’re here, together and you have me, Erwin and his eyebrows, Eren and-“

“And uncle Mike and Hanji, Erd, Gunther, Petra and even Auruo.” Said Erwin with a smile, pushing two plates full of eggs and bacon towards Levi and Armin. The blonde alpha ruffled Armin’s hair and sat on his chair. At the moment, they had only two chairs and since Levi refused to let the pups eat on the couch, usually they ate with them in their laps “Eren, stay still, or all your breakfast will end up on the floor.” Said Erwin, grabbing his fork and starting to eat.

“Where did you find the clothes for those two shrimps?” asked Levi adjusting Armin on his lap.

Erwin shrugged, swallowed and replied “Last night when I came back, I found you three already asleep, and Armin and Eren had already turned.” Erwin smiled again, discretely helping Eren cutting his bacon “So I went back to Petra and Gunther and asked them. Gunther had something left from his brothers but today we’ll have to go and ask Nanaba if she can help us.”

Nanaba was one of Trost omegas that helped with the pups’ care during the day. She and other wolves kept a sort of daycare, where little werewolves learnt how to read and write and play together.

Levi sighed, pulling Armin against his chest, relieved that all the sadness was forgotten “We have to do a lot of changes, Erwin. And later I’ll go with the brats to Nanaba, so that you want die of boredom at home, yes?”

Eren nodded excited, his mouth full like a hamster. He was a social creature, wore his heart on his sleeve and liked company. Armin, on the contrary, was shy and more like an observer, but Levi knew that those two would be fine as long as they were together.

“Is that fine by you, Armin?” asked Levi.

“Yes, Mama. I want to play with Marco and Sasha and the others.” Armin said.

Erwin thought about what Levi said: they needed to do a lot of changes, and the sooner, the better! They’d need a room for the kids, new beds, more chairs, clothes, toys… that was really a lot. And the honey-blonde alpha had already started to look for a new place where to start his new pack. He knew that soon Pixis would ask him about this matter, and he wanted to be ready to leave, shall the old Alpha decide to kick him out.

Now Erwin had a family he wanted to protect and provide for. Despite all his worries, he looked forward to the new life that was awaiting for them.

After they ate, Erwin was able to extract his leg from Eren grip –“No, don’t go! I want to play with you!”, and marched toward the main building of the village: he had to organize scouting groups with Pixis and Trost Elders to keep watch over their territories and look for a good place where build the new Trost pack, as well. Levi would join him after he dropped Armin and Eren to Nanaba.

Once Levi kissed Armin goodbye and asked Eren to behave and look out for his brother, he left with the promise to see the pups later that afternoon. Nanaba was a blond androgynous omega, with good character and buckets of patience. She knew her way around pups and everyone deemed her trustworthy.

Levi left, but something inside him howled at the decision, asking him to kidnap his alpha, go back to his pups and keep them all under the blankets around him. The raven shook his head, _what the fuck was he thinking?!_ He never was this territorial, this… possessive! He knew that they had to regain their small independency, besides, he had to work, to join his squad and Erwin.

But maybe Petra and Gunther were right, maybe this stupid full moon matter was really influencing him…even if he didn’t have a Dynamic yet.

While immersed in these thoughts, Levi’s nose caught a very heavy scent, like entering a kitchen after something burnt over the stove. It was overbearing, suffocating. He lifted his head and realized that he had wandered towards the part of the village that Pixis left for the Trostians. Here, they had built huts and cabins to live in, waiting for their Elders to choose where reconstruct the village.

“Hey, gorgeous!” someone said. The ‘greeting’ was followed by catcalls.

Levi kept walking towards the center of the village, thinking only to put distance between him and the unpleasant smell.

“Aw, where are you going, babe? Aren’t you going to stop and keep us company?”

“Come here!”

Levi snorted, he really didn’t have time to waste, damn it! So he stopped and turned, finding three big ass alphas only a few feet behind him. He shot them the most glacial look he could muster, and scrunched his nose purposefully. “What. Are you the fuckers that smell like a shit ton wasted fish?”

One of the alphas growled at the insult, the other two visibly tensed “Ehy, bitch. I’m not here to let a slut in heat insult me!”

Levi visibly bristled at those words. He clamped down every instinct telling him to not confront the alphas and a murderous expression twisted his features. Bearing his canines the raven snorted “I don’t know what you’re saying, scum, but I highly recommend you to leave me the fuck alone and fuck off, now that you still have your legs.”

The alpha that had previously spoken approached Levi, looking down on him from his considerable height “Aren’t you a feisty one.” He commented, and with a nod he gestured his two pals to near the black wolf, too, effectively surrounding him.

The smell of alphas grew thicker, in the small space formed by the walls of the newly built cabins, and Levi almost gagged. These past days his nose had become more sensitive and was now able to detect the feelings hidden into those heavy waves of pheromones: anger, hurt pride, spitefulness, lust.

 _Lust._ Levi’s wolf shivered at the realization, part of him in need, part of him in fear. His mind was screaming at him to kick his boot into those alpha pricks’ nuts and fly, but his body didn’t want to respond. Something ancient and alien was keeping Levi from running, attracted to the reaction he was able to evoke from his three opponents.

But he wouldn’t go down, he wouldn’t _submit_ to this sorry excuse of alphas. Alphas were meant to protect and be a safe refuge for other Dynamics. Alphas were kind and smart and would let odd werewolves stay in their den. They would adopt and take care of pups that had lost their original family, and love them as their own. Alpha meant Erwin Smith, nothing fucking less. “You’re only good to flap that filthy hole you have on your face. We saved your ass in Trost and now you dare speak shit to me?!” Levi’s temper was flaring up, a low growl flowed from his sore throat.

“Shut up, slut. Don’t you understand the situation you’re in? The one talking shit is you, or are you too far in your heat to think straight anymore?” One of the other two said, and his stupid buddies laughed, ringing Levi and forcing him to step back towards the walls of one of the cabins forming the alley they ambushed him in.

Levi kept his stance, but those words made him doubt himself: _heat? What were those pigs saying?!_ It was impossible that his heat had surged in that moment, he had just left Erwin and the alpha didn’t say anything! Besides, he felt absolutely normal, nothing out of the ordinary- but that was not completely true.

In the last days Levi had noticed the tiredness, the sore throat, the heavy bones and the constant prickling of his skin… he was always with Eren and Armin and thanks to them, he could ignore the need to be with the honey-blond alpha…Levi noticed that he was able to fully relax only when Erwin came back home and lay on their bed.

 _Their_ bed. That forced a shiver down the raven’s back, almost making him close his eyes.

 _Oh, shit. Oh, goddamn motherfucking shitty fucking shit fuckers! No, no. That couldn’t be happening, Levi could not be in_ heat _! Erwin didn’t smell it on him!_

“See, guys? You can smell him, right?” Levi was ripped from his jumbled thoughts by a calloused hand grabbing his right arm. The first alpha that spoke had pulled him against his chest and was now dipping his nose in Levi’s hair, following his hairline down to his ear and jawline. He stopped at the neck, nuzzling and inhaling the raven’s scent gland like an animal.

“Fuck, the scent grew stronger! This bitch is really calling for it, uh?” laughed another.

Levi was still shocked that his body almost craved the touch of the alpha, wanting to be manhandled and conquered, to be tamed and claimed. But his mind was clear: he would not permit that filthy human garbage to touch him!

That was it. Levi’s left hand collided against the nose of the alpha that was restraining him. A gush of blood exploded under Levi’s hit, staining his white cuff and blinding the aggressor, who turned with a high whine. As the man left his arm to cup his own face, the raven growled in rebellion, and launched towards the alpha that had just insulted him, clashing against his middle. With another growl, Levi curled his arms and poured a series of fists in his solar plexus. When the man lost his balance, Levi planted his leg twice in the man’s kidney. The alpha was going down, and the black wolf turned to the third alpha, that was looking at him in shock: he didn’t expect that under such a ferocious heat a Dynamic could still be able to think straight, or fight like that, unless-

Levi’s fist caught the man straight in the jaw, making him turn his head from the force. the black wolf felt his knuckles shuttering from the impact, the skin opening and bright with blood. The alpha caught the raven’s slim arm and twisted it, wanting to throw the smaller man on the ground, but Levi was used to fight bigger opponents, so he took advantage of the spinning and lowered his leg as hard as he could on the alpha’s neck, making him stumble on the ground.

Unluckily, Levi’s victory was short lived, as he sank under a new wave of heat, warm and sweet smelling slick oozing form his back. The first man he hit stood behind Levi, blinded by that delicious smell, and with the help of the third, managed to grab Levi and immobilize him.

“F-fuck, keep him still!” Levi was biting and kicking like a man possessed, sinking his teeth into the hands restraining him, he was not going down!

“I’m trying, I’m trying! But this stupid bitch won’t stop moving!”

One of the alphas was able to kick Levi’s legs, throwing him off balance, and used all his weight to force the raven to the ground, crushing the smaller werewolf against the muddy ground. Levi raised his head and crushed the alpha’s already broken nose. He rejoiced in the litany of curses he heard, but his head was terribly dizzy, his lungs were squashed by the alpha pig and the smell of the three alphas’ lust was making him gag with their force.

When even thinking became too difficult, a solitary sob escaped Levi.

Not in sadness, but in frustration, for his pathetic state and for the desire that was stirring between his legs despite the situation. Now Levi was positive he was in heat.

Like he had declared his defeat with those thoughts, the alpha that was pinning him to the ground started to rub his dick against his clothed ass. The sensation of the hardness against his needy hole made it twitch against his will. Levi’s eyes went huge with fear and embarrassment. He tried to free his hands, but the man who was keeping him in place pulled his already bent arms against his back, so that they made a hurtful angle over the raven’s own shoulder blades.

“Come on, let’s get it over with!” suggested one of the assailants. Levi heard the cling of a belt and howled, long and broken.

He rested his forehead on the hard ground and gritted his teeth at his own stupidity, for not having believed Hanji about how near his presentation was, about hoping to go into a rut when everything –everything!, screamed that he was going into a fucking heat. Levi kicked again, trying to dislodge the alpha that was straddling him and still rubbing against him, when he heard a familiar sound.

The raven raised his head enough to see the space between the cabins being filled with three figures. Two were big and imposing, the other quick and lithe. Voices were screaming and a feral growl cut the air, chilling his bones. A growl that Levi had heard before, one day when he was only a mere human. A sound that screamed rage and revenge towards anyone standing in the way. The sound of the only alpha Levi would recognize as such.

Levi keened without even realizing it, and his alpha responded with another possessive snort. In a blink of an eye, Mike had knocked out two of the men that attacked Levi, while Erwin had charged the one pinning his raven like a bull, throwing him against a wall. Grabbing the attacker by the neck, Erwin shook the bastard and growled in his face, menacing and beyond pissed.

“ ** _How dare you!_** ” Erwin’s voice was charged with authority and death, but was barely a whisper “How dare you attack _him_ … If only you were in _my_ pack, if only _I_ could claim justice and sink my teeth into your insides and leave your body for the crows… maybe then, I’d be satisfied.” He hissed. Erwin’s elegant features were distorted in fury, his canines sharp under thinned lips, eyes glacial and unforgiving, while his hand tightened around the other alpha’s neck.

Levi whined again, trying to call for his alpha –he needed him!, and realized that Hanji were hugging him, soothing the raven with their beta powers “Shh, Levi, it’s all right. We’re here, Erwin will take care of everything. You’re gonna be fine…” their tone was calm and reassuring, opposing the light tremors that pervaded Levi’s body.

“Brother…” Mike approached Erwin, his head lowered in respect but his eyes searched Erwin’s ones “Brother, leave him to me. I’ll bring them to Pixis and they’ll be judged for their actions.” Erwin didn’t move and Mike rested a hand over his bicep “Erwin. Let him go.”

Erwin growled again and turned his head slowly towards Mike, considering his brother’s suggestion.

“Call him.” Hanji whispered to Levi “Call him, Levi, make him come to you!” they were tense, their voice a little high-pitched.

Levi was still shocked and the heat was now starting to take his toll over his body, making him receptive to Erwin’s alluring scent, wanting to touch that wide back, to be wrapped in those strong arms. Despite his aching throat, Levi was able to croak a feeble “Erwin!”.

The honey-blonde alpha turned the head towards his raven and let go off the man that started to cough, greedy for air. Mike kicked him in the gut twice and with a disgusted snarl made sure he wouldn’t stand up. Levi was not his mate, but was his brother’s and a member of his family: the usually mellow alpha would not forgive those men for what they’ve done.

Erwin marched towards Hanji and kneeled in the mud beside the beta. His eyes still held so many emotions, their color like clear glass, all liquid and deep. He inhaled deeply and cringed in anger, because those fucking swine smeared their stink all over his lovely Levi. He had to erase immediately the insult.

Erwin swallowed and opened his arms “Thank you Hanji” he said, his voice raw with arousal. He didn’t expect it, but he realized that Levi’s heat was deeply affecting him “Come here, Levi.” Now the alpha could detect every nuance Levi’s sweet, sweet smell held: between the scent of jasmine and Forest itself, there was a small trace of fear and need, want, deep affection. And the strong smell of the slick that was produced by betas and omegas in heat.

The raven gladly obeyed and another whine left his mouth before Levi clamped his lips shut. He crushed against Erwin’s chest, the taller man’s arms warming and protecting him in a solid hug, his musky scent soothing his nerves. Levi unconsciously nuzzled the blonde’s neck. Erwin began to croon, and thanks to the deep sound and the vibrations, Levi started to relax.

“Hanji, I…” Erwin furrowed his brow “…I don’t know how to thank you, without you-“

“Shush, my friend!” the beta giggled looking enraptured at a flushing and cuddling Levi “It’s my duty as your beta and if I couldn’t find Levi…”for an instant even Hanji’s cheerful expression darkened, but they shook their head and smiled again, sniffing proudly “Anyway, we’re all good now. Well, you still have to take care of your _mate_ , Captain Wig!” they wiggled their eyebrows and Mike put an arm around their waist.

Erwin stood, pulling Levi against himself, keeping him as close as possible. He snorted amused, but in his eyes still burnt traces of the previous rage. “Mike, can I ask you to-” the alpha had to control himself while another wave of heat came from the raven, who was literally melting against Erwin’s chest. “…to take these three shitstains to Pixis?”

Erwin thought at how Levi’s was definitely rubbing off him. He would have laughed, if his wolf wasn’t so tense at having Levi in heat around other alphas. He looked at Mike, but his brother seemed to not care about that. Instead, the big blonde alpha raised his hands in a peaceful act and half smiled “Chill, brother, I’m not effected by Levi. I’m mated, don’t you remember? And I don’t find this smell so alluring.” Mike sniffed again and shrugged. “Of course, let me handle this.” The tall man snarled at the unconscious alphas.

Erwin was dumbstruck: he’d never smelled something as delicious in all his life! If he could, he wanted to rip off Levi’s clothes right then and there and lick him up all over that pale skin, tracing with his tongue any dip and crevice he found, making him moan his name like a prayer _-okay, stop now, Erwin, your pants are already tight as they are!_

The young alpha squeezed his eyes and found the words “Hanji, I have to ask you another favor… can you go and take Eren and Armin with you? They’re with Nanaba today…”

“The brats!” hissed Levi, his hands fisting in Erwin’s shirt. He shivered again, still trying to contrast his own body. He hated all this, hated to be distracted from his pups! How could he have forgotten? “I c-can’t stay here, I need-“

“You don’t need to do anything.” Interrupted Hanji with their no-nonsense voice “For once, shut up and let me handle this!” they grinned and Levi tried to escape Erwin’s hold, only to find that he hadn’t any strength left and the man had no intention of letting him go.

“I’ll take Eren and Armin from Nanaba and bring them to see you later…”the beta shot a knowing look at Erwin, that cleared his voice. “You can give them a change of clothes and they can stay with us tonight! It’ll be a sleep over with my cute nephews!” Hanji bounced excited “And you can come to take them back when, you know…all’s said and done. Essentially done. Very well and thoroughly done.“

“Okay, okay, make them stop! I know! All the fucking pack knows if you scream louder!” Levi was blushing furiously and looking everywhere but at Erwin. “And now take me away from this filthy alley.” The raven mumbled embarrassed, hiding again into Erwin’s buffy pectorals. _Damn this alpha!_

Erwin chuckled and his voice was lower and richer than usual “As you wish.” He looked thankful at Mike and Hanji, and the beta gave him two thumbs up, grinning like mad.

Levi looked over Erwin’s shoulder at the scene they were leaving behind: he couldn’t believe what had happened, but the three unconscious bodies lying on the ground were proof enough. “Do you think they’ll be okay?” he asked in a whisper. Suddenly his mind felt tired, even if his body was on fire and driving him crazy with need. The dampness coming from his rear flowed freely and Levi feared that Erwin could feel it. Damn, he already suspected that the alpha could smell it!

“I really hope Mike would kick them some more. Those pieces of shit… If I had known what kind of treatment you’d receive after saving their asses at Trost-“

“I was thinking about the pups.” Corrected Levi. He already missed his brats.

“O-oh. Well, I’m sure Hanji will take good care of Eren and Armin. And the kids love them like family. Besides” Erwin added, while crossing the fence of his house, every word sounding more strained than the one before “you’ll see them later.”

Levi sighed, satisfied for now, and nuzzled against Erwin’s neck. Again. Then he felt Erwin quicken his stride, until he was honestly running towards their home, opening the door with a kick and closing it behind them with a loud slam. Levi was confused, but his wolf shivered in pleasure as the alpha showed his strength. Erwin kicked away his boots and went straight for the bedroom.

Once there, he closed the door of the room and bent over the bed, pinning Levi’s wrists over his head, knees against his sides, looking at Levi with intense blue eyes. Eating him whole with a stare.

Levi’s breath itched and the scent that the raven smelt was so fucking perfect, that he could taste it on his tongue! Levi moaned and arched against his restraint, trying to push into Erwin, to rub his hard nipples against that muscular chest. When the alpha didn’t allow the approach, the raven whined, eliciting his own scent to rise and more slick to pour from his hole.

Erwin growled, so commanding and possessive, so perfectly dominating that Levi thought he could come there and then. He didn’t even feel embarrassment anymore.

“Levi.” Erwin’s voice was barely human, low and raw with want “Stop. Stop and- listen.” Levi shivered but bit back a whine, tried to clear his mind and steady his breathes.

“W-what now?” he panted. Every word was wasted time, damn! Why wasn’t Erwin touching him? Why wasn’t that serious mouth latched to his neck? Why-

“Levi!” called again the alpha “I-“ He breathed deep but words came difficult “I need to know that this… is what you want. That this is… _not_ ” he spat the last three syllables “all fault of your heat! Otherwise… I won’t lay a finger on you.”

Levi’s eyes went wide open and the raven gulped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... we're finally here *-* Levi, you cannot hide your feelings anymore!  
> I promise you'll like the next chapter, I'll explain how Hanji and Mike were able to find Levi, and finally Levi's dynamic will be revealed DUN-DUN-DUNN!  
> Bear with me <3


	10. Full Moon - part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometime, someday, it would happen that Erwin lost his certainty and felt thinned by the world, but until he saw his shadow he knew he was still there, whole. And the honey-blonde alpha had his own perfect shadow watching over him. His perfect mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm not dead, I'm only overworked ç_ç  
> I'm so sorry for this superlate update, but this chapter was so important for the story (and for me), that I got emotional and thousands of doubts assaulted me...I worked really hard with this, I hope you'll like it!!  
> So go on and read, SMUT WARNING AHEAD (finally tagged explicit for obvious reasons!!!)

A beat, followed by another. Silence.

Levi didn’t speak and Erwin sighed. Closed his eyes and regained enough lucidity to let the raven’s wrists go and stand. Brought one hand over his eyes, covering them. He turned and exited the room, leaving Levi sprawled and shocked over the bed.

The black wolf was still in the former position, panting, his head fuzzy with want and an ache in his chest. What was happening? Why did his alpha abandon him? Why wasn’t he easing his pain? Levi’s sight became blurred with unshed tears, he wouldn’t cry over this… he couldn’t even understand what was happening with him!

It was all too amplified, his sensations and nerves alight with awareness… he felt grimy after the fight and ashamed about what had happened in the alley. The raven was upset by the distance form his pups, from Erwin… the black wolf whined in need and nothing could have stopped the call from leaving his throat. He curled in himself over the bed, hurting and sweating, trying to ignore the insistent arousal that raged between his legs.

“Levi!” Erwin’s voice came like a surprise from the door, the blonde entering the room with long strides, apprehension on his elegant face. “Levi, what happened? Are you in pain?” he asked, kneeling beside the bed and reaching to touch the other wolf. He stopped when Levi whined again, looking from his lower position into those blue, blue orbs.

Erwin closed his eyes against another waft of sweet scent coming from the heat juice oozing from Levi’s rear. The blonde alpha concentrated his effort in staying still. Gulped down loudly and stared at the raven.

“If-if you’re still worried about the pups, don’t be. Hanji and Mike will take care of them and when you’re better, they’ll bring them here.” Erwin explained while folding a wet towel and grabbing Levi’s hurt hand, the skin over the knuckles open and bleeding. The smell of Levi’s blood was highly destabilizing for the honey-blonde alpha. Something in his gut rebelled against the calm which he treated the wound with, cleaning it with light touches. The wolf inside the blonde was raging and thirsty for the assailant’s blood, craving to spill it until the last drop. That was not the moment for sweetness, it was the moment for blood and vengeance!

Instead Erwin kept cleaning Levi’s pale skin with the towel, his other hand, his face and the slender neck, where those garbage fuckers dared to sniff and lick _his mate_. The thought brought a feral growl out the blonde’s throat, similar to the one he used to disperse Levi’s attackers.

Erwin recoiled when he realized how thick and menacingly possessive his scent had become, dipping the room -the whole house, into its power. No one would dare nearing his den, not now, fearing to enrage the alpha inside it further.

Levi mewled again, shifting over the bed, his body instinctively responding to the alpha. “Okay.” He rasped, panting and trying to relax his stiff limbs.

Erwin was occupied removing Levi’s boots when he looked at him, drunk with every reaction his scent had elicited into the usually impassive raven. “Okay…what, Levi?” he _had_ to ask. Because if his wolf was already perceiving Levi as _his mate_ , he didn’t want to misinterpret the raven’s gratitude for saving him with other feelings. Couldn’t risk to lose Levi’s trust now doing something irreparable. Didn’t want to destroy everything they built together.

The thought of taking him as a mate had touched Erwin’s conscious mind only a bunch of times, in the dead of the night, when the silence of his room was filled by Levi’s and the kids’ breaths… because Erwin didn’t want to delude himself, didn’t want to get used to this wonderful life that he had always envied in other werewolves. Didn’t even know if he could allow himself to dream of having a family, with all the responsibilities Pixis gave him and the fact that he had always been a little difficult to approach, too commanding, rarely allowing others to know him… all things that Levi had promptly swept away.

So now, even if every fiber of his body was telling Erwin to pin the raven to the mattress, to _take_ and finally _claim_ , he willed his arms still, clenched his jaw as tight as he could and waited. For a sign, for a change into those blue-grey orbs that were looking at him in the same way: longing, but not daring to do the next step.

He shook his head: the problem were not Eren and Armin. “It’s okay, because even if I don’t trust the stupid four-eyes, I trust Mike to keep an eye on our kids.” Levi’s words were strained and slow to come out, even as his lips slightly curved upward. The raven was in discomfort, that much was obvious, but through his dizziness he went on speaking, his cheeks slowly turning pink. “And I trust you.” Levi’s expression was not lost in the storm of his heat, was hard and sure, thin eyebrows knitted over serious eyes. Even as his scent changed from confused and upset to willing and submissive.

Erwin’s own scent increased in waves once again, in response to his mate’s message: Levi _trusted_ him and the alpha knew that nothing was more precious than this admission. Levi had said _our kids_ and Erwin’s heart thumped harder in his chest.

The blonde alpha dropped the towel to the floor and surged on his knees, hands on the mattress to help himself over the bed, towering over the raven. Not once blue eyes left the stormy grey ones, both males thinking about the same things: how they met, how they struggled with their new condition to find a new normalcy… only to have it distraught –in a better way, by Eren and Armin’s arrive.

Erwin lowered on Levi’s chest, touching it with his own, encasing the smaller wolf with his legs and arms, cautious fingers combing sweated charcoal locks. Levi had his eyes closed, tilted his head so that their foreheads touched, along with their noses. He shivered and Erwin ached for the intimacy of the contact.

“I never thought that I wanted everything you brought with you.” Erwin whispered against Levi’s lips, trembling. The raven breathed in with a rush, then opened his eyes to watch with a somber expression Erwin.

“You’re the only one crazy enough to accept it all.”

Erwin chuckled, the vibration transmitted through his chest to the raven. “That’s because it’s you.”

Levi rolled his eyes at the cheesiness, but nodded. “That’s fucking right.”

And that was it. With those few words, Erwin knew that this was what Levi wanted, just like him. And the blonde didn’t wait another second to finally claim those thin lips, always spiteful and malicious… but in that moment, as Levi’s mouth went pliant against his, Erwin thought that he had never tasted anything sweeter.

The blonde pressed more upon Levi, covering him with his body and scent, dizzy with the sensation of the smaller man’s arms climbing on his back, slender fingers fisting into his shirt, scratching the skin underneath. Erwin’s entire being was shivering with life, finally able to hold Levi close, all the time he fell asleep alone in that room already forgotten.

And Levi loved the feeling of his honey-blonde alpha shrouding him, for once not hating the difference in their sizes.

They kissed like hungry men, impatient but reverent, nibbling and licking each other’s lips. Levi amused himself denying Erwin access to his mouth, but when the alpha growled and pressed down more, adding the friction of their groin to Levi’s foggy mind, the raven gasped in surprise and that was enough for Erwin to dive into the other’s hot mouth.

Erwin lapped and suckled, caressed Levi’s tongue with his, mapping every corner of Levi’s mouth. The blonde rested his right hand on Levi’s left ear, caressing with the thumb the straight line of his jaw down to his chin, coaxing him to open the jaw as much as possible, keeping it there, slack and pliant. Meanwhile, the other hand had crawled along Levi’s side, rumpling his clothes to expose the lithe, pale chest that convulsed and heaved every time Erwin’s hips buckled against the other’s.

On instinct Levi folded his knees, letting them fall slightly to the side, allowing Erwin to slot between them like he was born to lay there –and hell, maybe he was. “Oh, _Levi_ …” Erwin began to rub his hips against Levi rhythmically and the raven gasped again at the burning sensation provided by their pants.

Levi trailed his hands down, towards the waistband of the blonde’s pants and let his fingers paw the taut flesh of his ass underneath. “ _Tch._ We better get rid of these.” He said with the usual snarky tone, but the alpha knew it was only to mask his insecurities.

Erwin breathed open mouthed against Levi’s cheek and chuckled, his voice already low and raspy “Indeed.” The young alpha sat on his haunches and started to unbutton Levi’s shirt. One fucking bottom at a time.

Levi groaned, thrusting his hips up to seek friction again, but it failed him. Erwin was too distant. “I thought we were kinda in a rush, here.” Grumbled the raven, moving his arms out of his clothing. “Or old men like you have no stamina? Already done, down there, eyebrows?” he smiled, all teeth and mischief in his grey eyes.

Erwin laughed again, shaking his head and dropping Levi’s shirt on the floor. He knew he would be scolded for that, later, but he couldn’t care at the moment. The blonde nailed the black wolf with a heated stare, licked his own lips and smiled in turn. “We have all the time we want, Levi.” He said, with a voice that promised both sweetness and darkness. Levi visibly shivered, eyes lidded. Erwin undid his first three buttons, blue orbs drinking heat from grey ones. “ _You made me wait quite a while, you know?_ ” Other three buttons undone, the white flaps of the shirts opening to reveal the precise lines of strong pectorals glistening with perspiration.

Levi groaned hearing the alpha in Erwin’s voice combined with the sight, as another waft of musky and heady scent hit him. Lips curled over his teeth in the effort to not pounce on Erwin – _damn_ , how could he work him up so easily? By now, he was sure that his pants were drenched with slick.

“ _You liked rubbing against me like the naughty little thing that you are, didn’t you?_ ” murmured the blonde again, finally stripping off his shirt. “ _You left me here waiting for you all this time, but you don’t like it so much when it’s your turn to wait, nh?_ ” Erwin leaned down as Levi keened calling him, but still refused to move. So the honey-blonde man raked his fingers over the raven’s abdomen, so hot against his palm, and then brought the same hand over his own abs, sliding it down slowly ‘til the waist band of his pants.

Levi’s breath was erratic, muscles flexing under the big hand, feeling that blue stare burning him with an incandescent white flame. His eyes followed Erwin’s movements, figuratively licking that powerful body, whining high when he had to stop at the golden happy trail that vanished into the pants.

Without knowing, Levi sat and closed the distance that separated him from his alpha, curling his arms around Erwin’s torso and nuzzling his nose into his abdomen. Breathing deep the pure smell of mate, Levi started to lick Erwin’s skin, lavishing every dip he encountered, shivering when Erwin’s passion erupted into rumbling growls that made the both of them vibrate.

“You’re so good to me.” Murmured Erwin again with an unsteady voice, raking his fingers into dark locks. “So needy and greedy, you vicious thing.” The disturbance of the hair at Levi’s nape was wonderful. Erwin’s hand had lain there and the wolf inside the alpha rolled in possessiveness.

Levi was sucking at the dip between Erwin’s clavicles, his jugular, left there the last of the black hickeys he had already marked his alpha with, when he felt gravity shift and found himself with his back on the mattress again. “W-what…?”

“You said we had to get rid of these, didn’t you?” Erwin had managed to unbutton Levi’s pants and was starting to peel them off the shocked raven. “You’re so wet for me, so good, _so perfect_.” Repeated Erwin like a mantra. Before Levi could protest, the blonde bent an arm around Levi’s midsection and lowered the head to kiss his abdomen, right where it formed the luscious v that was usually hidden by pants, ignoring the twitching erection there, already leaking precum.

With one last yank, the offending clothes joined their shirts on the floor with a wet _plop_. Levi was beyond embarrassed, knowing that now there was nothing to stop his ass from leaking. Or protect him from Erwin’s starving gaze. Fuck, that man could crawl under Levi’s skin.

“S-stop perving l-like a middle aged man!” gasped Levi, shifting under Erwin’s stare, suddenly self-conscious in his nakedness. The alpha smelled want and need thick in the scent coming from the raven, who was still trying to fake some sort of control.

“ _Every time you open your mouth, you only make me want to go slower._ ” Admitted Erwin, lips curled in a predator smile. He crawled over Levi’s body, barely rubbing their skin together with the movement. Levi’s skin rucked in goosebumps and he moan-growled as Erwin latched his mouth over a perked nipple.

The blonde sucked and licked and bit around the pink bud, reveling in the sweet taste of his mate’s flushed and sweated skin. Enjoyed making the smaller male lose any strength left in him, every need to stay in control. He kept going until Levi’s halfhearted grumbles became moans. Under another wave of heat Levi went finally loose with a long groan, head lolling to the side, hips loose in their sockets to allow complete access to his alpha.

Erwin didn’t stop peppering Levi with kisses and bites, moving to his long neck, mouthing the sensitive scent glands there. One hand kept the black werewolf in place, the other slid down, towards the source of the honey slick oozing from his hole. He circled the tight ring of muscles with two fingers, barely repressing the jolts of excitement that lightened his body.

He still couldn’t believe he was going to claim Levi as his mate. He must have done something really right in his previous life if he could hold the raven in such a way now. Couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

Levi mewled high. “E-erwin!” hands gripping the blonde’s strands, ruffling his perfect appearance.

Erwin was suddenly shaky with everything he wanted. He wanted to be gentle. He wanted to tighten his grip. Wanted to drink every drop of his mate’s sweat, every tear, every sound. Wanted to lose himself in Levi’s perfection, wanted to make the other lost in Erwin in turn.

The room was filled with a chant of groans as Erwin dived his fingers into Levi’s hot insides. The black wolf was already loose enough to fit two of them easily, the slick helping like natural lubricant. The alpha tried to thrust them experimentally and Levi met him with greed, his heat reading him for mating. Erwin scissored his fingers and Levi whined “U-ungh!”. But not in discomfort, if the arch he bent his back with was any sign.

“N-not…” Levi panted, pressing down on Erwin’s fingers. “Not enough…damn-ngh!”

Erwin was aware of his own arousal, half forgotten against the sheets and Levi’s words had him twitching in want. The alpha had teased his mate enough, knew he couldn’t go on anymore… he needed to claim what was rightfully his.

Already covered by his strong body, Levi found himself submerged by Erwin, as he surged again like a wave. There was something intrinsically comforting in being surrounded by the alpha… Levi could feel the reverence, the fear of hurting him, the affection that those gentle touches conveyed.

Erwin watched mesmerized Levi’s surrender, loving how beautifully he fit into his arms. With deft fingers the blonde freed his raging hard on, red and throbbing and aligned himself to Levi’s entrance.

Erwin’s fingers scraped Levi’s scalp and blue-grey orbs locked into blue ones. The raven looked straight into Erwin’s eyes and like many other times before, without words or visible signs, the honey-blond werewolf knew it was okay to proceed. So, after a beat of heart and a deep breath, the alpha pushed into the hot inferno of his mate’s insides, opening him slowly, forcing it enough that Levi felt the burning sensation of Erwin’s hard dick entering him, dragging in its path both pain and pleasure mingled in one.

Just like their lives, their bodies and scents met and joined, merging and blending together, until Levi didn’t know where he finished and when Erwin began. They would never be alone anymore.

As Erwin fully seated himself into the warm velvet of Levi’s insides, he trembled with barely restrained emotions. Grinded against that tight hole because he couldn’t wait anymore but at the same time wanted the moment to stretch forever, guttural sounds and gasps left his throat. He watched as Levi’s greedy hole swallowed him hole, the slick of the heat allowing an almost smooth penetration and leaking sinfully when his shaft moved.

Levi shivered too, lost in the pleasure that his alpha’s fat cock brought him, stretching him to his limits, reaching depths he didn’t think was possible to reach, filling him to the brim. The wolf inside Levi howled in glorious victory, finally sated –later, Erwin will shamefully remind him that he had indeed howled aloud. But the sensation of fullness wasn’t enough, the prickle along his spine was already vanishing with the burn of the penetration, so Levi curled his hands around Erwin’s neck, knees going tight against his sides.

Levi wanted so much more! Wanted to be opened and broken, then fixed anew. Wanted to be set free and closed securely in a small place inside Erwin’s ribcage, near his heart.

And then Erwin moved and Levi saw the fucking stars.

With each painstakingly slow thrust that Erwin managed, Levi’s memory went at all the nights spent beside this selfless, oddball of a werewolf. Every time they had hunted together. The first time Erwin had licked him over his forehead. When he had patted Armin’s back all night long after a particularly bad nightmare, or every time that Eren was too energetic and the blonde indulged him into fake fights.

These were some of the reasons that told Levi that he was doing the right thing with the right person.

Levi’s eyes filled with tears and he threw his head back, exposing his throat in final submission. Every thrust he met with vigor rocked him back and forth on the bad, making small high-pitched “Oh! Oh! Oh!” escaping from his bruised lips.

Feeling his own cock dangling swollen and weeping between his and Erwin’s abdomen, the raven knew his climax was near. He clawed Erwin’s back enough to reach his neck, just over the gland under his ear that released the alpha’s unique scent. He lapped at it, sucked it and with a final breath bit down hard, breaking the skin.

Erwin growled in pleasure, finally marked by his mate. Kept thrusting with abandon inside Levi, pumping his hips to reach as deep as he could into the velvety hotness, looking for the sweet spot that would make Levi touch the sky. He grunted and shifted his hips slightly: when the small raven cried against his skin, sinking his teeth deeper, Erwin knew he had found it.

He kept the pace, let the hand that was not supporting him slide towards Levi’s neglected shaft. Erwin closed his fist around it and thee rhythm was enough to naturally rock the smaller wolf’s hardness in his fist in tandem with the thrusts. Erwin thumbed the weeping slit on Levi’s cock, and heard him moan again, still lapping at the blood over the mark on the scent gland. He had been marked, but now was the alpha’s turn. Erwin traced a long wet stripe with his tongue, from the jugular to Levi’s scent gland, mouthing the fragrant skin over it, savoring the taste of their sex.

Levi whined, the thrusts becoming more and more difficult as Erwin felt his knot forming at the base of his length. That was the moment Erwin was waiting: the first time a couple knotted could be painful. The only way to be sure to ease the pain was to set off his mate’s climax with it. He absolutely refused want to take the risk and hurt Levi, so he controlled himself until the right moment.

Erwin bit down Levi’s neck, hard enough to draw blood. With another hit to his abused prostate, Levi tensed underneath him, arms and legs holding onto Erwin with renewed strength, his nails drawing red crescent upon his alpha’s muscled back, head thrown back into the pillows. Levi came hard over his and Erwin’s abdomen, allowing the knot to finally settle.

With a last “Erwin!” Levi went limp into the blonde’s arms, breathing hard and tracing with small licks Erwin’s chin and jaw, while his alpha gave the last hits, before releasing his load into his mate, long shots of seed carefully tucked in him by the knot. Levi drunken mind reveled in the sensation of his mate everywhere: draped upon him, stretching inside him, filling him, flowing into his blood through the mark.

Both males were panting, Erwin still holding Levi to prevent his weight to completely crush him. Then he turned on his side and maneuvered them so that Levi was laying on his chest, watchful to always keep their hips as close as possible, to not tug where they were still joined. Then he put one hand on the small of his back, the other on his nape, scratching it lovingly.

“So… an old man, uh?” teased Erwin, repressing a smile.

“You’re an ass.” Answered Levi, swatting him on his bicep. His voice was hoarse and his muscles felt like jelly. It was strange, to be this relaxed. The black wolf closed his eyes to bask in the afterglow of their mating, but soon enough he grimaced. “…How long till you can get me a shower?”

Erwin chuckled, ready to bend to his mate’s need for cleanliness. “At least twenty minutes. Since it’s our first time…” he cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed by the intimacy of the thing, “Maybe more.”

Levi sighed, resigning himself to wait covered in cum. Alarmingly, he found comfort in being filled by his mate’s seed, being knotted tight to him, his womb warm and full. It felt _natural_ , right.

Levi was beginning to think that his wolf part was his fucking opposite. Normally he would be going nuts at this point, but then he remembered what Erwin said: _‘That’s because it’s you’_. Levi blushed furiously, grateful for the position he was in, since he could hide his face from the blonde fucker.

He breathed again, stretching his strained muscles and something felt… odd. New, but not in a bad way. He perked up, elbows on Erwin’s buffy chest, back arched in a sensuous way that made the alpha hiss with the small pull that the movement provided to his oversensitive knot. Another spurt of seed filled Levi’s insides and the black wolf almost feared that the sensation was enough to make him hard again. He gulped down and repressed a shiver of pleasure.

When his voice was steady enough to speak, Levi said “Oh… didn’t meant to.” And squeezed his ass just to see his imperturbable blonde twitch at his mercy. Erwin groaned and closed his eyes in a wanton expression that almost had Levi drool. Instead Levi smirked, because he was the only one who could see him that way, the only one to reduce him in such a state. That sense of power could get to his head.

“What’s… this?” Levi sniffed the air in the room, thick with sweat, cum and their mating scents.

“Oh!” smiled Erwin, looking younger and carefree with his relaxed face and unkempt hair, his eyes never before so mellow. “You finally caught your own scent, Levi.”

“This… this is my scent?” he sniffed again and could detect notes of grass, cinnamon and wind itself in the air. He liked his smell. “Mh. Smells clean. Almost neutral. It’s calming.” He commented, lowering his head on his alpha’s chest to rest.

Erwin liked how tickling Levi’s soft hair was upon his heated skin. “That’s because it _is_ neutral. You’re a _beta_ , Levi.”

Levi blinked owlishly, looking at Erwin. The blonde carded his fingers into the charcoal strands. “Now you’re able to perceive it because you’re at your heat peak, so your scent is stronger. Once this is over, you’ll be like Hanji –in this aspect: giving off a calming and reassuring scent. But I’ll be the only one to truly appreciate your scent, as your mate. And Eren and Armin, obviously.”

“I think that the full moon set off your presentation. Hanji told you that betas can present with a heat or a rut, right?” The raven nodded. “Well, since Armin and Eren chose you without thinking twice, I’m not really surprised that you presented with a heat. You have a truly caring nature.” Levi would have hit Erwin if he wasn’t so exhausted, instead growled but with his raspy throat he stopped soon –thanks to the smug fucker for making him scream, so he let the blonde go on speaking.

“And even if it’s a strong heat for a beta, you being what you are, allowed you to maintain your lucidity in that alley.” Erwin’s smile vanished and his grip tightened around Levi’s hips. “I’m really grateful for that. If you had been a full omega, who knows what could have happened to you.” These last words were barely a whisper, and Levi saw pain swimming into blue orbs. “Thank god Nanaba smelt you when you brought the pups to her and was able to warn Mike and Hanji…”

“That’s so…” Levi said nodded, thinking about all this and reached with his hand to touch the indelible sign on Erwin’s neck. _His mark_.

Soon, when the knot faded and the heat surged again, Levi would leave a twin scar on the other side of Erwin’s neck. He couldn’t wait.

“So, I’m a beta, uh?” The black werewolf was still rubbing his mate’s mark, processing all the information.

The honey-blonde alpha nodded. “That’s why we didn’t expect your presentation in such a short time. You were subconsciously masking your scent and your presence. Even from us, since neither Petra or Gunther were able to smell you. Not even Hanji! I know you are very heedful and always in control, but being able to elude us… you’re maybe the strongest beta I’d ever known. You’re even able to maintain the mind connection without Hanji.”

Levi cocked his head. ”And what does it mean? That we can get rid of that crazy ass?” his brows arched in a hopeful expression.

“No.” Erwin chuckled. “When Hanji’s far from us, usually the mind connection becomes instable. It’s a thing of proximity, betas can maintain the connection only if they are within a certain distance and with very familiar wolves. That’s why every squad of our pack has its own beta. But when you went with Auruo and met Armin and Eren… not only you were able to communicate with Auruo, but you included the pups in our mind connection like it was natural!” Erwin seemed excited by all this, so Levi thought it was all good, even if he couldn’t really grasp the importance of what he was able to do.

Levi shrugged “So it’s a good thing?”

Erwin kissed his forehead. “Yeah. Very good indeed.” He said with a fond smile. The blonde werewolf had always been afraid about how extreme his pheromones reacted. It was enough to rile him up and make him bite Levi, transforming him! So he never thought to bond an omega, a being that could only enhance his response to the pheromones call.

And betas were too rare, too few in their pack and none of them was right for him… Erwin had never considered to build a family in all his life, until all _this_ happened.

Even in the whirl of Levi’s heat, Erwin had been aware of everything and anything that happened. Nothing was left to fortuity. He was not an alpha that passed at the right moment to satisfy a werewolf’s heat. _He had been chosen_.

He looked at Levi, who was scowling to cover his embarrassment and Erwin saw everything he ever dreamt of and never hoped to gain: someone that could stand beside him without obscuring his mind, not confusing him with instincts. The perfect mate, perfect for him, able to make Erwin stronger and steadier. Ready to follow him, but strong enough to stop or push him if needed. Because all that Erwin could see as good in himself was his mind and he didn’t want to give up his lucidity for love.

He felt that he wouldn’t be himself anymore, if he had to renounce to this aspect. But with Levi being a beta all this worries had been swept away. Of course, if Levi had presented as an omega, he would have loved him all the same, given the chance. Someday Erwin’d have to come to terms with losing a small part of himself.

He said to himself that it would be worth it nonetheless. _Levi_ made it worth it.

But now… he knew that he could always be strong and solid, because for a concrete shape, nothing was a better proof of its existence than its own shadow. Sometime, someday, it would happen that Erwin lost his certainty and felt thinned by the world, but until he saw his shadow he knew he was still there, whole. And the honey-blonde alpha had his own perfect shadow watching over him. His perfect beta mate.

With a hiss, Levi caught his attention: the knot was easing its way outta him, and the black wolf arched against Erwin’s chest to facilitate it. The feeling of Erwin’s big cock sliding out of him made Levi’s skin crawl in goosebumps and his mouth emit a pitiful mewl.

“Shh, it’s alright, Levi.” The blonde alpha tried to soothe him, sitting and hugging him close, big hands circling in comfort upon porcelain skin. “Come now, we can go and have a bath-“

But Levi pushed him back, hands open over Erwin’s hard pectorals, shifting his weight over his mate and towering over him. “Where do you think you’re going, blondie?” The heat was surging in Levi’s guts again, causing his breaths to quicken and aching for that wonderful fulfillment that he just reached. He licked his lips and his grey eyes shined with lust as he felt Erwin’s length with his hand.

He could barely circle his fingers around its scorching hot girth and the alpha wasn’t even at full mast. The black wolf stroked it gently tentatively, enjoying the sight of the powerful alpha reduced into a soft growling mess underneath him.

Erwin’s strong muscles were contracting under his sweated skin and Levi lowered against him to lick and suck his way up towards a toned shoulder. He bit and scratched with his fangs and the alpha’s abs started to move the alpha’s hips in a slow wave motion, that allowed his big cock to slide between Levi’s ass crease. Levi stopped his ministrations at Erwin’s neck and aligned himself over his alpha’s hardness.

Levi pushed down experimentally, rejoicing the slight burn and the loss of breath that Erwin’s hard sex caused in him when it pushed against that tight ring of muscles. Erwin hissed in pleasure, eyes lidded with the impelling need to thrust into his mate and fuck him senseless, but he resisted, letting the black wolf take the control.

Levi proceeded in impaling himself with a maddening slow pace. He fixed his stormy blue-grey eyes into the liquid glass of Erwin’s and licked his bruised lips again. “Stay right where you are, cause I’m _so not_ done with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo... please feed me back, I'm really anxious about this chap. I know a lot of you will be disappointed in my choice of Levi's dynamic, but I needed a different Levi and a different conception of betas for my story.  
> All I have to add is... whatever hope you may had for *things* that are exclusively omegas traits... just don't give up yet!!


	11. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He hugged him and let himself being hugged in return, basking in the comfort of such a mindful and caring mate. For the second time –the first was obviously when he rescued his brats, Levi was really grateful for all the shits that happened to him and dragged him down in this world of fantasy, because he was sure as hell that in Shiganshina didn’t exist anyone nearly as perfect as Erwin fucking Smith. “Now bring me my pups. I really need them.” He asked-commanded with a last kiss on the alpha’s cheek.  
> “Yes, sir.” Chuckled Erwin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehi, guys!! I made it :) I'm sorry for how long it took, but here's another chapter I'm sure you'll like!  
> I want to thank every single one of you for leaving comments or kudos <3 can't say enough what it means to me.  
> Enojoy, lovelies, smut and fluff for you <3

Erwin groaned aloud as his knot subsided for the nth time that afternoon...well, evening. He hadn’t realize it, but since he closed the door of their den behind him, quite a few hours had already passed. He couldn’t see any light coming from behind the obscured window, the only source of light coming from the fireplace in the sitting room and the candles burning on the nightstand, giving the room a soft orange glow. As soon as he was free to move, the blonde collapsed on the mattress beside Levi.

The black wolf was out soon he had climaxed, enjoying the feeling of being filled and pressed against the bed by his alpha. The honey blonde werewolf turned his head and took a moment to secretly observe his mate. _Mate_. Even in his mind, the word sounded so perfect to Erwin.

He brushed some black strands from Levi’s forehead, eyebrows relaxed for once over fluttering eyelids, lips slightly parted as he breathed evenly. The glands in his neck still emitted his characteristic scent, fresh even if tainted by heavy waves of heat, subsided for the moment. Erwin couldn’t believe that in such a small frame was locked incredible strength and speed. Often the raven beta passed for an uncaring sourpuss, but the young alpha had learnt to look beyond the appearance.

Levi was an interesting being: intelligent, with a shitty sense of humor (pun intended), selfless and caring to the core but masked everything behind his trademark hardness. Life must have given him a lot of crap and so the small werewolf had to harden to face it.

But in the last months, Erwin had seen what Levi was truly capable of. The length he would go for Petra and Hanji, for the Erwin himself and over all, for the pups. The alpha smiled, thinking about Eren and Armin with a pang in his chest.

He already missed them, his instincts high strung by Levi’s heat and calling for him to keep his family near and safe. He grimaced. There really wasn’t a way to keep the pups near them with Levi in the current predicament… that would be horrible and embarrassing for everyone.

He heaved a sigh, musing how the first day with Nanaba and the other cubs went… it was such a delicate time for the two traumatized kids. He wanted to see them, make sure that Eren didn’t start any fight, or that Armin wasn’t bullied… and he was certain that Levi would be overjoyed seeing his pups even for a couple of minutes.

So Erwin decided to clamp down the feral instincts that were preventing him to leave his den and readied himself to go to Mike’s to bring the pups here, just to say hi and take a change of clothes for the night, god knows where those two kids played with –okay, that was definitely a Levi thought. He snorted in amusement.

Now that he decided to get up and fetch his brats, though… Erwin found extremely difficult putting more than a few inches of distance between himself and his mate. A low grumble raised from his chest and he rolled on his side as he hugged Levi, pulling the raven flushed his own chest. He was made to fit perfectly in the big blonde’s arms. He thanked again any superior entity that made Levi a beta. If he was an omega, the young alpha could never think about anything but breeding his mate, forgetting about his duties and their pups needs…

Well, not exactly forgetting. Werewolves’ instincts were really strong towards their offspring, and usually mated couples with pups didn’t have long heats. Not until the pups were old enough to be able to stay away from their parents for longer periods of time. Armin and Eren were still little, but not as dependent as a newborn. Still, their family was a particular case: the two little ones had just begun to form a real bond with the two adults and Levi and Erwin had mated for the first time a few hours ago… both mates’ instincts were spiked and alert, asking to keep close the loved ones. The blonde breathed from his nose, relieved that he was still able to preserve his mind and priorities.

Erwin kept crooning while kissing Levi’s forehead, his temple, eyelids, high cheeks. When he arrived to the lips, Erwin mouthed them reverently, brushing that firespitting mouth sweetly, suckling on the plump lower lip and eliciting a moan from the smaller man.

“Nnh… Erwinnnh…” murmured Levi, lazily returning the kiss with sloppy movements. He even raised a hand and tangled it in blond locks, nails gently scraping the scalp.

Erwin rolled himself over the beta, propped on one elbow so he could trail his thumbs over the other’s cheeks. “Levi…” he said between open mouthed kisses “I was thinking… about bringing here the kids.”

He felt Levi nodding against his mouth “M-mh, good idea.” Levi threw a leg over Erwin’s hip, to keep him close and in place. “Go.” He commanded while tracing his alpha’s jaw with the point of the tongue, voice lacking any edge.

Erwin chuckled and nuzzled the head of black hair with affection. “I would, if only you let me.”

Levi grumbled something incomprehensible, tucked as he was between the pillow and Erwin’s neck. He didn’t move, but strengthened the hold he had on the blonde’s shoulders. Erwin feared the closeness their crotch were gaining could soon become dangerous. He wouldn’t be able to move for another hour –or two, if Levi wanted to mate again.

“Come on…” said Erwin, but he didn’t move either. “The sooner I go, the sooner I’ll return.”

Levi’s chest raised with a big intake of air and lowered again as he exhaled. The raven pulled away just enough to squint at his mate with sleepy eyes and a bad case of bedhead, making him adorable in Erwin’s lovestruck eyes. He wanted to cuddle with Levi forever, but the thought of his pups compelled him out of the sheets.

“I’ll be back soon, I promise.” He smiled and kissed his Levi again, a chaste smooch on the lips, then rolled down the mattress. He yawned and felt all the muscles in his sides, back and legs aching. Wow, he didn’t remember sex was that… intense. Maybe because in the rare occasions in the past when he did indulge in such an activity, he never found such a compatible partner. The few encounters he had, had always presumed he wanted to control and dominate, always giving him too much, things he didn’t ask for, or didn’t want. He felt overwhelmed and not really free, so eventually he stopped looking for partners.

Erwin had always thought that his lack of interest in sex, was due to the fact that he didn’t really need release in such an intimate way. He thought that the act in itself didn’t hold much interest for him, in the end it was always the same. But now that he had made love to Levi and that Levi had made love to him… that was all the difference in the world.

He shook his head like the lovestruck idiot he was and put his feet over the cold wooden floor, looking for his discarded underwear. Before going out to fetch his pups he wanted to quickly wash himself. He had provided a wet towel to rinse both of them between one heat wave and the other, but that wasn’t nearly enough to go back to the world of the living. Let aside that anyone would have been able to detect his mate’s delicious and rare scent around him.

Erwin growled without even thinking, brought a hand on his throat and stopped when his fingers touched the thick scars of the bond. The alpha closed his eyes, basking in the comfort that the tangible sign gave him.

“Oi. What are you doing?” Levi’s bored voice made the alpha turn and look at him. As soon as Erwin’s clear eyes lay on the beta, he knew that he had made the biggest mistake of his life. The raven werewolf was sprawled over the bed, blissfully tired from the events of the day and the consuming heat. Only a thin layer of sheet was on him, but instead of being useful and cover his form, it only emphasized every dips and curve of that sinful body. Erwin’s eyes slid possessively upon Levi’s legs, two small hills under the covers, up to his half exposed torso and pink perked nipples –ah yes, the honey blonde alpha remembered clearly what it felt like having those little buds in his mouth.

Erwin swallowed, forcing his burning stare to rise over the smaller man’s collarbones, beautifully adorned with kiss marks. The true trophy, though, were the bite marks gracing Levi’s scent glands, more eye-catching than any diamond ring he could have given the beta. Besides, he thought that Levi wasn’t the type for rings, his nature one of freedom and pride. Scars of that kind suited him more, because they were one with him, not unnecessary tinsel that could be lost or forgotten, but a private story drawn onto his very flesh, to wear with pride.

“Like what you see, Commander Awesome?” Levi had his arms over his head, bent at the elbows and looked at –more like judged, his alpha from his position. He smirked, knowing exactly what he was doing to Erwin.

The honey blonde werewolf snorted at his mate’s too pleased words “Oh, so I’m no more Commander Eyebrows?” he sked, arching one of said eyebrow.

“You are. But I saw something _thicker_ than your eyebrows, today. Better to remember _that_ , instead of your caterpillar brows.” Answered the raven, while stretching on the bed. He left the arms under the pillow he was resting on, bent his legs and let them fall to the side, exposing a telltale hardness under the sheets. The longer the alpha’s eyes lingered on Levi’s crotch, the more evident the darker, wet spot of precome dampening the sheets became.

“Levi…” whispered Erwin, voice so low and raw that fortunately masked the tremble in it. Without even knowing, he was already moving back towards the center of the bed.

“Mmh?” asked the black werewolf, already feeling his hole softening and moistening as he caught Erwin’s heady scent. He was sure that his alpha could smell how ready and willing he was. But he liked having the big, bad, blonde wolf _begging_.

“I have… gone. Going. To go. For pups.” The blonde’s scent raised and filled the room again with lust and possessiveness, even if he tried not to be caught openly smelling the air searching for the heat behind the freshness scent of the beta. If he could and was sure that Levi wouldn’t castrate him for that, even sacrificing his own happiness by depriving the both of them of sex, he would have sank his nose directly into his mate’s groin. He growled, because that was the only way in which he allowed his inner wolf to express the unbearable crave for his mate.

“Come on big boy. Just do something and we’ll make it real quick. I want my pups.” Mocked him Levi, opening his arms inviting him.

Another feral growl came from the alpha’s throat in a strong declaration of desire. Not a second later, Erwin grabbed Levi’s ankles from under the sheets and pulled him towards the end of the bed, bent the legs over the raven’s own chest and pushed down. His Levi was very flexible and he couldn’t wait to explore all the possibilities that this trait could grant.

“Are you kidding me?! You want your pups but you keep egging me in such a way…” Erwin’s words were half lost in his growls. “You’re so goddamn selfish, Levi.” He looked into mischievous blue-grey eyes, lowered his head into the crook of Levi’s neck and lapped at his glands. “I’ll teach you why you don’t mess with me.”

“Oh? You surely talk big for someone who’s- _anh!_ ” Levi had his smug answer ready, but it went outta the window the same instant that Erwin lined his hardened and twitching cock to Levi’s entrance and pushed in, invading for the umpteenth time those maddening warm insides, claiming his mate again, making him remember how deeply their bond run.

“What were you saying, Levi?” whispered Erwin against heated skin. “Why you’re not talking anymore?” he retreated from the beta, pointed a knee on the mattress while the other leg was still planted on the floor to give him more leverage. Leaving only the head of his member inside him, he pushed forward bit by bit, conquering his mate one inch at a time, until his hips were flushed against the smaller man’s ass.

Levi threw his head back and heard his own voice rasp into guttural grunts, masking all the moans that couldn’t be kept in. Streams of silky slick overflowed the greedy hole that sucked him in like it was made just for it. “Big bad wolf got your tongue?” Erwin grinded against Levi’s ass, feeling how he tensed underneath him, arms thrown around his neck, clawing blindingly.

“Y-you bastard!” panted Levi. “I’ll make you eat your shit if you knot me in some strange position-ah…ah…there!” by now Erwin knew where to find his mate’s sweet spot, one of the few things that could melt Levi in his arms. The raven’s flavor was amazing in these instants: fresh and pure like an open window on a November evening. It felt nostalgic and homey, breaking Erwin’s heart with longing.

With a last slow kiss, the blonde turned him on his side and began to fuck him in earnest, hard and rough, because from the scream and the arching of Levi’s back, he could tell what the raven wanted. The alpha climbed the bed, straddling Levi’s right leg, while holding the left one against his chest. With his hands he caressed and scratched lightly Levi’s thighs and the sensitive skin behind his right knee, leaving red trails on that pale flesh.

Levi moaned in abandon, letting every hard thrust rocking him on the mattress, already knowing that the skin of his back would be red and tender after this. Couldn’t really care less, since he’d never been fucked with such fierce passion before. And seeing Erwin curse and worship him at the same time, calling his name like a mantra and breaking into pieces while being broken…

Erwin bent forward, opening Levi’s legs more, leaving him more exposed, muscles straining in the sweet effort of matching every movement. “Don’t. Ever. Provoke me.” Every word was accompanied with a sharp ram of the alpha’s powerful abs. The raven beta looked at his mate, breathing like he was running a marathon but all he could manage to do was smirking.

“Watch out for your heart… don’t wanna be a widow because you had a stroke, old man.” Sneered Levi.

“Watch out when you try to walk tomorrow.” Replied the blonde to the smug look in his mate eyes and snapped playfully his jaws.

“I’ll have my alpha at my feet ready to grant my every wish.” Murmured the raven, nipping at Erwin’s neck and kissing his glands. All this loving attentions ignited Erwin’s gut, so he brought the hand that wasn’t holding Levi’s leg on the raven’s neglected length. He squeezed it and Levi cried with high pitched voice at the intense stimulation, eyes big as saucers. Came as soon as the alpha began pumping the leaking member.

The honey blonde werewolf went on pumping in the sweet torture that was his beta’s clenching ass, until any movement was impossible for the bulging knot that engulfed the tight channel. After some deep thrusts Erwin came with a growl and latched his mouth in the crook of Levi’s neck, branding him once again with teeth.

Just as alpha’s seed began to fill him, Levi could feel his body relax, blood running through his veins and not scorching them with its hotness. Mind finally clearing, the beta moaned at the sweet sensation of his womb getting warmer. Instinctively he brought a hand over his abdomen and caressed it, while his face was showered in small kisses by a crooning alpha.

“Okay, okay, happy alpha, I understand.” Said Levi once his breathing evened out. Finally opening his eyes, he looked at Erwin, all loving expression and mild smile. Levi was still flipped on his side and his shoulder was starting to ache. He groaned. “I told you not to knot me in some embarrassing position, idiot! Yet you go and do this!” the raven raised his head from the mattress to look at the way their body were connected: Erwin was sitting on his haunches glued to his ass, Levi’s right leg pulled over the blonde’s hip to keep him close as the left leg was still bent over Erwin’s shoulder.

The position allowed Levi a new point of view on his abused body, tired and scattered with bruising marks. His thighs were matted with purple-bluish imprints of Erwin’s big hands and bites, just like his hips. Okay, that was easy to cover with clothes. His nipples were –embarrassingly enough, a war field: all the area around his pecs was scattered with hickeys and larger bites, clear signs of canines into sensitive flesh. Well, that will be tricky because Levi was sure fabric will be hard on his abused skin, but maybe wuth the help of some ointment… Then he looked at his abdomen, the part right over his pubis, splattered with his own come and Erwin’s saliva and froze.

Erwin was chuckling, observing his pissed and grossed out mate, but as he felt Levi’s body stiffen, worry obscured his features. “Levi?... what’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” his scent gave away the insane concern that assaulted him in response at the alarm he detected in his beta’s.

“W-what…” croaked Levi. He swallowed and tried again, passing a trembling hand over his swollen abdomen. “Erwin… what’s this?”

The blonde’s clear eyes focused over Levi’s slightly round belly. The black werewolf was lean and thin, muscular for his short stature, so even if that was a small bulge, it seemed as if the raven had a melon in correspondence of his bladder. And was fucking panicking over him.

Shaking fingers trailed the curve profile of Levi’s belly and the raven could feel the tautness of it. He knew it wasn’t fat, nor the after effect of one of Petra’s over abundant meals. “Erwin… am I-?”

Erwin blinked owlishly, seemingly mesmerized by the sight. That dreamy look only confused Levi more.

But the honey blonde werewolf understood by the shaking voice of his mate what was the problem. He smiled, a faint trace of sadness in his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t panic, Levi. It’s not what you think it is. That’s…” he blushed and hesitated. Levi was ready to strangle him for not speaking. “That’s my… semen. Filling your insides. You know… since we’ve been coupling for hours-“

“WHAT?!” yelled the beta, trying to sit up, but failing, since their position didn’t allow much movement. He growled, fisting the sheets. “Explain, shithead.”

“Well, it’s my seed, I already told you.”

“I understood that, idiot! Tell me why it seems I ate a ball after we fucked, if I’m not pregnant!” Levi was panting again, his eyes blown wide with hysteria. “God, I’m so not ready for this…” he complained, bringing his hands over his face.

“Levi… Levi, calm down. Listen to me.” Erwin bent forwards to caress him, the motion making him release another spurt of come into the raven’s warm womb. They both trembled in pleasure.

Levi was the first to recover from this jolt of lingering lust, still very worries with the problem at hand. “Oi, shitty eyebrows! Stop trying to breed me! I’m drowning into your sperm by now!” said Levi bitterly, shooting him a glare.

“It’s not like I can control it, you know it!” replied with a snarl Erwin. He sighed and closed his eyes. when he reopened them, he seemed closer to his usual self than he had in the last hours he had spent secluded with his mate. “Listen, Levi. It’s normal that in a creature as sma- thin” he corrected himself as the other tightened his eyes dangerously “as you the more they’re knotted, the more it’s… visible. Just as your belly fills after you’ve eaten a lot.”

“That’s utterly gross.” Spat the beta. Erwin pushed down his grin as he thought that he didn’t hear Levi complain while being fucked into tomorrow.

“That’s how it is. Remember what Hanji said? Betas are very rare and rarely bear children. You’re a male beta and this makes it more difficult, even if you presented with a mild heat, that in theory is a sign that you can get pregnant. We don’t know why, Nature works this way. Maybe betas subsided heats correspond to less fertile periods of time, thus the difficulties with breeding a Dynamic like yours.” He shrugged. “Moreover, you already have pups, young ones. They need all the care and attention you can give them, so usually in these cases, pheromones recognize that its’ not the moment to carry other children, further decreasing the chances of you being impregnated.”

Yeah, Levi remembered when Hanji and the other omegas spoke about it. And to be honest, beside the comforting feeling of being filled, he didn’t feel anything. At this point, having seen how much sharper his instincts were, Levi was sure that if something –someone, were to happen in his belly, he would know.

After some moments he sighed, relaxing once again. “Okay, yeah. I remember.” He blinked, looking at the ceiling. “Sorry.”

Erwin released a sigh, too and chuckled under his breath. “It’s okay. I understand that this is a lot to take in.”

“No, it’s not that.” Replied Levi, and wiggled so that he could look his alpha in the eyes. “I’m sorry I overreacted. Don’t think that I…” he blushed and looked away. Licked his swollen lips and went on, because he wasn’t a coward and Erwin deserved to know the truth. He spoke almost in a whisper. “Don’t think that I don’t want your litter. That’s… something that eventually… I mean, we already have two kids and I know that you can be a good… that you can be good for them. Or whatever.” He shrugged to lessen the stress he was feeling. “It’s only that after all that’s happened in the last weeks I’m not mentally prepared to… the eventuality of a pregnancy.”

Erwin stayed silent as he watched Levi furrow his brow “I already struggle to keep up with those two misfits and we still have to look for a home before Pixis kicks us out and I don’t’ know if I’m the right person to be a parent-“

“Levi.” Erwin interrupted his words vomit, reaching out to card a hand through his mess of a hair. This time, the blonde’s expression was full of love and respect once again, the kind he reserved only to Levi and his pups. The beta recognized it and something deep inside him clenched in sweet surrender. “Thank you. I understand and I’m happy you shared your concerns with me, it means a lot. Maybe one day, once Armin and Eren will be older and won’t need us as much, when we’ll have a beautiful house with a bigger bathroom and a room for the children…” he smiled and Levi fucking melted, every worry washed away. “Maybe after one of your heats, that little swelling won’t go away, your body won’t soak up all my seed but will create a warm womb around it, cradling it and transforming it into something alive.”

Levi felt a lump in his throat imagining those very things, a burning desire setting in his chest. Closed his eyes because he couldn’t face Erwin’s sweet lovestruck face. For one foolish heartbeat, the thought of getting pregnant and round with Erwin’s pups wasn’t so bad. He knew the blonde would be there to help and support him, along with Armin and Eren that surely would be two awesome older brothers... and maybe, when all the hard times they were facing, not knowing who was riding werewolves villages and after they had rebuilt their own den… maybe Erwin would accompany Levi to Shiganshina village and finally Kenny and Mikasa would meet Levi’s family. The knot released and the mates hissed in unison, breaking the small bubble of dreams in Levi’s head.

Finally free to move nearer his mate, Erwin bent forward and rested his forehead against Levi’s. “One day.” Said the blonde, closing his eyes and caressing the beta’s cheekbones. He was sure that his affection for the raven would only increase.

Levi nodded once “One day.” He whispered. The raven wanted to drop the subject, but he still had a question for his alpha. Thought that it was now or never. “So…” he cleared his voice. “You don’t want my litter?”

Erwin blinked, surprised, holding his breath. Then smiled and shook slowly his blonde head, without breaking eye contact with Levi. “I’d really like it. I mean, one day.” He repeated, smile growing bigger. “if it happens, it happens. I’ll be overjoyed, but… for now, I already have two beautiful pups, I’m more than satisfied. They may not share my genes, but I don’t care. A parent is the one that helps you grow, don’t you think?”

Levi had listened to Erwin and for the nth time he decided that he’d follow this man to hell, if he was told to. “You can fucking bet it.” He agreed, nodding once as he snaked his arms around Erwin’s neck. He hugged him and let himself being hugged in return, basking in the comfort of such a mindful and caring mate. For the second time –the first was obviously when he rescued his brats, Levi was really grateful for all the shits that happened to him and dragged him down in this world of fantasy, because he was sure as hell that in Shiganshina didn’t exist anyone nearly as perfect as Erwin fucking Smith. “Now bring me my pups. I really need them.” He asked-commanded with a last kiss on the alpha’s cheek.

“Yes, sir.” Chuckled Erwin.

***

Finally Erwin left and Levi could take a moment recall everything that happened and to bury himself in shame a filthy sheets. He sprang in a sitting position, ignoring his sore hips and the aching limbs.

“Dammit, I have to change the bed before the brats come back…” he grumbled to himself. So with a certain effort he took off the soiled covers from the mattress, draping one over his bare shoulders as he went to the window to open it and finally change the thick air that permeated the room.

“Tch, like it’d be enough. That beast of an alpha stinks like a horse…” yeah, maybe telling himself that Erwin didn’t have the most alluring and sensual of the scents could help Levi believe it. _As if_. The raven shivered pleasantly at the cutting breeze entering from the small window that overlooked the back of their house: the Forest around was dark and still but the sky was hidden by heavy clouds of the particular rosy color that promised snow. The beta’s breath escaped from his parted lips with intangible puffs, condensing in the cold night.

Levi turned, dropped all the sheets in the hamper and limped –yes, limped, to the bathroom to wash himself. “Damn Commander Wig, I’ll make his life a hell the moment he comes back…” words promising murder and suffering accompanied Levi as he tried to wash and put on some clothes. Try is the keyword, because now that his heat was subsided after the most recent mating and his pheromones naturally settling down, he could feel all the strain he made his body go through.

Every movement was slow and rigid, muscled trembling with strain, legs and arms heavy like timber. And don’t start talking about Levi’s ass, because the man was beyond embarrassed with himself at how it pulsed and still retained the awkward sensation of Erwin’s dick still inside it. He tried with all his might to ignore the small bump of his belly, but as he put on the fireplace some water to make himself tea, dressed in only underwear and one of Erwin’s sweaters –he was too lazy to search for proper clothes, let alone putting them on risking to strain something else, he found himself caressing his stomach with small circular movements.

Levi was looking into the orange flames that lightened the living room without really seeing them, but comforted by their warmth and the feeling of his bare feet in the plushy carpet on the wooden floor. Erwin’s den was like a small chalet and with snow in the air, the raven craved nothing but his pups and a hot cup of tea.

When he realized that he was cooing at his own belly, he froze in place and reminded himself that that wasn’t a baby-bump, but more like a semen-bump. _Ew, that was fucking disgusting!...and strangely arousing._ Levi grimaced. Those goddam hormones making a mess out of him! He never thought to possess a sex drive, lest it was that strong… because if the raven had to be completely honest with himself, the heat had only be the catalyzer, during all the intercourses he was completely aware and knowing of what happened. He had _wanted_ it. Every time that Erwin had crawled between his spread thighs or that he had pinned the alpha underneath him riding the hell outta him- Levi shook his head, trying to dispel the embarrassing memories.

He thanked again that he had presented with a beta Dynamic, because when Petra and Gunther had explained to him what a heat was for an omega… the raven shivered, not comfortable with such a course of thoughts. Finally he proceeded to prepare the tea and change train of thoughts: Hanji was sure to pester him for days to come after his mating, while Petra would corner him to know every detail- okay, not a good train. Change again.

Adding some honey into the cup and waiting for the tea to cool, Levi thought about his old home in Shiganshina, about Mikasa and Kenny and about how relieved they would be after knowing what really happened to him, that he didn’t die but was brought to life. He was sure Mikasa would totally fall in love with Eren and Armin. He smiled into his cup and took a sip of the hot beverage.

Just what he needed to calm his nerves and relax after the last tiring coupling with Erwin. Today was special, but they had to think about a solution for the kids… Levi didn’t like imposing on Hanji and Mike, even if they were happy to help, loving the brats like family.

When his thoughts were about to fill again with problems, Levi’s head turned to the door of their den instinctively. He tried to listen and his ears picked muffled voices coming from behind the wooden door, but that could be anyone passing in front of their house. It wasn’t that late, but with the winter, the sun went down beyond the trees sooner. So Levi used his new sense to sniff the air and surely a grin curled his lips.

Even if faint, he could recognize three familiar scents approaching, carried by the night breeze and through the windows Levi had opened to change the air. Obviously, the musky scent of his mate, strong and imposing like any alpha, but with sandalwood notes that belonged only to Erwin. Then came the sweeter puppy scent of Armin and Eren, like honey and citrus mingled with Erwin’s and his own scent. His family was back.

Levi smile tensed, now that he had danced around the house too long, he felt a pang of pain in his still tired and sore body. He dragged himself on the couch, caught his white scarf from the hanger and sat with the legs against his own chest –he was still embarrassed about his slightly round abdomen. Pulled a small blanket upon his legs and tied the scarf in a funny cravat around his neck covered in hickeys. He knew that Armin and Eren didn’t know what a hickey was, but to prevent any awkward question, the raven covered them.

Not a moment later, the door banged open and the house filled with giggles and excited puppy ramblings, covering the smooth voice of the honey-blonde alpha. “Shoes off, you two, out there is all muddy and you know how Mama hates mud.”

A chorus of “Yeeeess!” replied from the threshold and soon came Eren running towards the couch. Before the lively cub was all over him, Levi put his hot cup of tea on the small table beside the couch. “Mama!” Eren all but plunged on Levi, hugging him and the blanket around the beta.

Levi chuckled and brought a hand in the wild locks of the brunet. “Hi, you.” Eren nuzzled against his Mama, his tail wagging midair with happiness. “And where is my favorite blondie?” asked the raven, turning his head toward the entrance of the den. And there was Armin, placing his and Eren’s shoes in a tidy line near Erwin’s. The alpha took the pup’s hand and together they walked towards the couch in front of the fireplace.

“Are you maybe talking about me?” joked Erwin.

“ _Tch_. You wish! I said blondie, not bigass honey-blonde giant.” Arming giggled and covered his mouth with a chubby hand.

“Come here, don’t make me stand, please.” Said Levi and opened his free arm for him –the other was around a cackling Eren, who found ‘bigass honey- blonde giant’ very funny.

“Mama said a bad word!” laughed the brunet wolf.

“Not a bad word, a description of how huge Erwin is.” Explained Levi, scratching behind Eren’s furry ears that moved at the pleasant attention.

“One day I’ll be as bigass huge as him!”

“Let’s hope, baby boy. But only after you’ve learned how to restrain yourself, cause you can be a real earthquake sometimes and I don’t want to die young, thank you.”

Erwin chuckled behind a tight lipped smile.

Eren listened to his Mama but didn’t understand everything he said, so cocked his head to a side and blinked those magnificent jewel eyes like a real puppy. _Fucking adorable._ The beta preyed that the heat subsided soon, because he wasn’t so not equipped for all those acute and raw emotions… usually he was better, but now he could literally melt thanks to his lovely babies.

Armin was laughing too when he left Erwin’s hand to run to Levi, climbed beside him and into his arms, hugging the raven’s neck. “Hello, Mama!” said the small blonde pup with a smile. “You’re so warm and smell super good today!”

“Yup!” confirmed Eren, looking up at the beta. “And Papa, too.”

“Is that so?” said Levi, inviting Eren into his lap to finally hold his babies. He let them under the blanket with him, because their button noses were a bit cool from the breeze outside. With a side glance Levi saw the shocked expression on Erwin’s face: it was the first time that the small werewolves called him ‘Papa’. Maybe the two were able to perceive how the two mates have finally sealed their bond, thus recognizing the alpha as their legitimate parent.

Something warm crawled up Levi’s guts. He snorted and nodded towards the couch to his alpha “You come here, too. Outside is cold as shi-”Levi inserted the ‘children-filter’ and corrected himself “as _sheep_. Stay here and regain a temperature of actual human beings, instead a reptile’s.”

“Levi we’re werewolves, we’ve got a higher temperature than normal human beings.” Reminded him Erwin, obeying with a blissful smile and sitting next to his mate. Put the arm nearer the raven over the back of the couch, curling it to circle the beta’s shoulders. With a satisfied curl on his lips, Levi adjusted in Erwin’s embrace so that his head rested on the hollow between the alpha’s bicep and pectoral. Werewolves were indeed warm blooded creature, because the three wolves provided much more warmth than the fireplace and the blanket. Or maybe, it was only Levi’s raging Mama-bear pheromones playing nuts with him _again_. The beta cleared his voice and looked at the two boys in his lap. “So, brats. First day of school. How was it?”

“Amazing!” said both Armin and Eren, the brunet immediately going on elaborating. “There were a lot of pups, even smaller than us!” he seemed awed. “But those cried all day long. We didn’t! Not once! Right, Armin?” he said proudly, looking at his blue-eyed brother, who nodded happily.

“Most of them we knew already, because they’re from Trost as well, but others are new!” said Armin, thinking about their classmates.

“Yes! And, and!” Eren was jumping while seated on his haunches, ears perked up excitedly. “I played a lot and even built the highest tower with the wooden blocks…” he then shut up and pouted.

Levi lifted his eyebrows, waiting for him to go on, but when the pup remained silent, looked at Armin. The blonde wolf’s ears quivered and flattened against his head. “Yeah, well… it was a very beautiful tower and very high… but Jean didn’t like it so he told Eren and Eren got angry at him and they began to growl and fight and Jean tripped…” Armin shrugged, pouting like his sibling “And ended destroying it. It was an accident-”

“No, it was not!” replied Eren angrily “He always destroys everything I do!”

Armin tried to calm him “But this time-“

“No!” insisted the brunet and Levi rolled his eyes, knowing how stubborn his pup could be. He had hoped that the first day of school would go smoothly, but with children involved ‘smooth’ was really a hard business… plus, he knew how that Jean boy and Eren were incompatible and too similar to get along. He didn’t want the few moments with his kids to be obscured with petty memories, so he tried to calm Eren by caressing his back in small circles.

“Don’t shout to Armin.” He said, feeling said pup pulling closer to him after his brother’s snappy reply. “And ignore that Jeanbo. If he annoys you again, go to Armin and play with him, or to Nanaba.”

Eren was still pouting, not looking at his Mama in the eyes. Erwin pet the boy on his head and behind his furry ears, hoping to help him relax. After a few seconds it seemed to work.

“…I’ll try. But I hate him.”

“Well, we can’t like or be liked by everyone…” said Erwin with mellow voice, clear eyes smiling and warm as he regarded his pups. “But we can try to get along. When you feel it’s too much, just leave him and change game. You’ll see that Jean won’t care to bother you long enough.”

“Today Eren helped me with my drawing!” said Armin, to change back to a lighter topic.

Eren perked up again and smiled to the blonde cub “Yeah, Armin is the most smart of the class!”

“Smartest.” Corrected under his breath Erwin, always smiling.

“Right, smartest.” Repeated mechanically Eren, nodding to his brother whose cheeks blushed with the compliment. “Even Nanaba said it!”

“Oh? Not bad.” Praised Levi, and snuggled closer to his boys, reveling in their sweet smell and comforting presence until he could, because soon enough Mike would come to take them back to his and Hanji’s home, since the beta could still feel the last tendrils of his heat warming deep into his guts.

Eren and Armin kept on rambling about their day excitedly and with Erwin’s fingers gently rubbing his shoulder, Levi heaved a secret sigh of relief. He snuggled closer to his alpha and let the fresh scent of his brats quench the new wave of heat that was slowly igniting in his guts.

The raven swore that never in his life he had thought about the possibility of living such a quiet moment and _enjoying_ it. The fault lay in his stupid pheromones, _fucking obviously_ , making him all mushy and cuddly and purring. Couldn’t wait for the moment that damned heat ended, so that Levi could become once again master of his own body and feelings –he conveniently forgot that he was a beta and as such, his mind was as clear as water during a heat, but... meh. Sue him for secretly reveling in this situation.

Levi froze, realizing what he had just admitted.

“…Levi?” Erwin asked with his baritone voice, the rumble transmitted from his chest to Levi’s back. The alpha noticed that the raven was distracted. Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance: was he that obvious?!

“…and then Annie told me that once Reiner fell from the stairs in the same way!” was saying Armin, while Eren laughed at his friends’ misadventure throwing his head back and holding his tummy. That almost made him roll and fall on the floor face first, but Levi caught him from his scruff and secured him against his chest.

Fuck all that teeth rotting schmaltz distracting him! Before returning to listen to his babies, Levi made a mental note to ask Mike what would happen to the shitbags that had attacked him that morning.

“It’s nothing.” He grinned in reply to Erwin, thinking that a good old neutering would do good for those rabid dogs. Maybe old pervert Pixis would agree to let him do that personally… Levi smiled to Armin, encouraging him to keep talking, already feeling more like himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I hoped you liked it, because from the next chapter... well, a lot of things are bound to happen, so hold on tight!!!  
> *throws kisses and runs to hide*


	12. The beginning - part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so SO sorry for the delay!! Life got really busy and writing had to wait :(  
> Anyhow, I can't thank you enough for keeping on leaving kudos and comments to this fic even if an era has passed since the last update, I can't explain how grateful I am!! If it wasn't for you all, I'd never find the motivation to sit down and write!!  
> Thank you so much, you beautiful souls <3  
> Now go on and read: I had to split the chapter in two, in order to update sooner... it's like a filler chapter, but I hope you'll like it nontheless!

“Come on, Eren, stop moving around…” sighed Erwin, following the lively pup with a small coat in his hands. Said pup had no intention at all to wear it and leave the house, running about the den laughing and happy to be faster than his Dad.

“No way! You must catch me, before!” Eren’s laughter ringed in the otherwise quiet evening “I’m too fast for you!”

“Oi, brat.” Eren stopped abruptly when he clashed against his Mama, who observed the boy from top to bottom, one hand over his hip, the other clasping Armin’s little hand. “Stop being loud and put your coat on. Uncle Mike is already waiting for you and we don’t want him to freeze his ass out there.” Levi reached down to take Eren up in his free arm.

“And you…” Levi regarded Erwin with an unimpressed look “Stop playing around and be useful. Take the boy’s things.” Eren nuzzled against his Mama’s neck, kicking his short legs in giddiness. Levi chuckled, wondering where the small ball of energy found all that spirit. The raven nuzzled back, relishing in the higher body temperature of the kid and the distraction that his boys provided from the increasing heat in his abdomen.

It’d been hours since he last coupled with Erwin, his belly bump still present but less prominent. Soon, even Armin’s and Eren’s scent wouldn’t be enough to distract the beta from the last spikes of his heat. They had to hurry and send the kids to Mike and Hanji’s, now that Levi was still able to control his urges.

Erwin curled his nose, as sensing his mate’s distress, but didn’t press the matter, instead chuckled and rolled his eyes “Yes, Captain!” he cut through their small living room in a few steps and tried to dress Eren again. “Come on, Armin’s waiting for you to go to Hanji and Mike’s… didn’t you say Hanji was waiting for you for a sleepover?”

“Yes! They said that!” replied loudly Eren, finally extending his arms once at a time to be dressed by the alpha. He turned to Armin “Ehi, Ar! We won’t sleep, we’ll eat a lot of delicious things and see the sun rise!”

Armin’s baby blue eyes brightened and the blonde pup nodded once “Uhn!”

Levi snorted. “I give you two hours.”

Erwin finished with putting on Eren’s scarf and pulled the pup in his own arms, ruffling his air and scratching his wolf ears. “I say one.”

Armin cocked his head, always perceptive about what adults said, his light blonde wolf ears moving on his tiny head.

Levi bent and raised the child to his chest, hugging him “Goodnight, sweetheart.” The nickname was used only on special occasions, and the beta felt bad for separating from his babies this soon. He wanted to give them only good memories and avert the risk that his sons thought they were unwanted. “I trust you and uncle Mike to keep at bay your brother and that savage with glasses, yes?”

Armin giggled, not completely understanding but happy with the trust and responsibility given to him. “Yes, Mama. Night!” Levi gave him a squeeze and let him go. Erwin walked behind Eren, who was pawing at the door, greedy for fresh air.

“Hurry, Daddy! Open the door!”

“Chill, young man.” Erwin replied patiently, walking with Armin and taking with him the bags containing the boys’ change of clothes. Levi crossed his arms over his chest and repressed a shiver: the pool of warmth settling in his abdomen was increasing. He tried to distract himself thinking how painfully obvious the similarity between Eren and a common puppy was.

“Say hi to uncle Mike and Hanji for me, would you.” Waved the beta. “And behave!”

Eren hollered from outside the den a “Yeeaahh, I know!” and soon after Armin and Erwin followed, the blonde alpha closing securely the door behind him. In the end, he still had a mate in heat and the instinct to protect him from others alphas, even if said alpha was as close as a brother, was overwhelming.

Levi looked at the closed door for long moments, the voices out there gradually vanishing. He sighed, trying to ignore the sudden silence. Just to do something and distract himself, Levi brought his empty cup to the little sink in the kitchenette. He had just reached the counter when a strong wave of heat hit him, making his legs wobble and whining out loud.

“Ngh!” the beta crouched over the counter, taking deep breathes to calm himself: he just went from having all his family around, to being alone. His brain knew why, but his pheromones acted on their own, and right now, they were telling him that he needed his mate. “Stupid, useless…dammit!” spat the beta.

All his skin seemed on fire, the clothes he was wearing only an hindrance, because they were scratchy and muffling his scent from his mate. Without realizing it, Levi let out another whine, a call that his alpha couldn’t ignore. Not with the plea echoing painfully through the bond.

And in fact, not even a second after, Erwin stormed through the door of their den with a low growl, possessive and menacing. What was happening to his mate, for making him call the alpha in such a way?

Then the blonde’s light irises fell on the smaller man gripping the kitchen counter with white knuckles. A sniff to the air and the alpha’s growling turned from possessive and menacing to possessive and reassuring: he was there, the alpha was there to help his little mate overcome the heat and the rolling notes that fell from Erwin’s mouth said all that and more.

Like how the alpha covered the room in a few quick steps, arms already open to embrace the smaller werewolf. Levi whimpered when he was encased against Erwin’s taut chest, limbs finally yielding under the strain, the crooning soothing his burning needs. The beta nuzzled his alpha’s chest, fists curling into his white button up, a whine slipping from his lips.

“Ehi…” tried Erwin, massaging Levi’s back with his hands and bending over him, making him feel his presence.

Levi shivered and managed to ask the one thing that still worried him “Are my pups fine?”.

“Yes.” The blonde reassured his mate, but his impressive eyebrows knitted together when the beta didn’t move, only breathing against the bigger werewolf chest. The alpha hooked a finger under Levi’s chin and made him rise his head: he was met by quicksilver orbs, alight with want behind the cold restraint the raven was exerting over his instincts.

Erwin bent some more and spoke over Levi’s lips “Our pups are safe with the rest of our family and you’ll see them again soon.” Erwin swallowed, for an instant instincts threatening to overcome him. The young alpha gritted his teeth, but Levi’s intoxicating scent seeped through his fangs, laying on his tongue and igniting his soul. But the blond shut his eyes against his very nature “I’ve got you.”

A promise that he would keep until the end of his days. The words worked like a spell and Levi let himself sag against Erwin, leaving him the command once again. The black wolf’s legs gave away, wobbly because of the heat and the strain of the hours prior. Levi curled around his mate, breathing in the calming scent of his mate, losing his mind to the hot waves pooling in his belly.

Erwin kissed the white column of Levi’s neck and nuzzled the scarring marks that declared to the world who the beta belonged to. A feral rumble vibrated in the alpha’s chest and Levi could only arch his back, exposing his ass and nape for his mate to take.

“E-Erwin- ngh!” Levi trembled in his arms. The blonde man grinded against the raven’s bubble ass, already hot and hard, ready to take him again and again, until his heat subsided.

“I got you, Levi.” He whispered again and hooked his index under the hem of Levi’s shirt, tracing his pale back with nails, leaving red trails on the skin. Drunk from the sight, the blonde alpha snarled from his nose, possessive and barely in control of himself, bent over his mate and renewed the bonding scars marring the beta’s scent glands.

Levi mewled in pain and pleasure, trembled and forgot everything.

**

“Aw, come on, Short Stack, move that pretty little ass of yours!”

“Hanji, calm the f- _duck_ down.” Snorted Levi, closing the door of his and Erwin’s den behind himself.

“Guys! The kids can hear you!” whispered-shouted Petra, looking around for Eren and Armin.

“ _Tch._ ” Levi sucked his teeth, annoyed. “Those two dwarfs have lived with me enough to know how I express myself.” He shrugged and stepped into the soft layer of snow that coated the ground. Winter had finally arrived and brought frosty wind and nightly snow. All that white helped to create a peaceful and clean sensation – Levi _absolutely loved_ it, but it brought a number of problems, too.

First, Levi was a fucking black werewolf. Yep. He stood out like a sore thumb in all that whiteness. And so did almost every wolf of the pack. Petra had a brighter shade of fur, but tended to the brown nonetheless. Erwin, Armin and Mike were luckier, since they were blondish, but the two grown-ups were as big and suave as bears and Armin… well, Levi could spot him a mile away, jumping and rolling in the snow like the pup he was.

So much for the camouflage, thank you not, Mother Nature.

“Brats!” called Levi and Armin stopped in his game of chasing his brother, letting Eren pounce on him, rolling like an avalanche in front of the adults. Petra giggled, Hanji was cackling like a demented cuckoo.

“See? They’re ready! Come on, Mama Bear, what’re we waiting for?” the crazy beta extended a hand towards the two pups, who were barking happily towards Levi in their wolfish form.

The raven kneeled and pressed his lips together, welcoming his growing pups in his arms. Since Armin and Eren had entered Levi and Erwin’s family, they had put on weight and the teal eyed cub had gained a few inches over his sibling. They were more carefree and smiled more often, and not too many nightmares haunted their dreams. All in all, they were recovering. They were happy.

And Levi knew, just like Hanji and Petra knew, that he had to take the pups around more, to let them explore the Forest and become accustomed to their new surroundings. Today they were going to explore the vicinities of the river, where Erwin and the other alphas of their small pack said they could establish. Erd was dealing with Gunther’s heat, while the other alphas were with Pixis, discussing about said good place to build their new village.

Erwin had told them that Pixis had agreed to extend their stay until summer, since they had pups with them, now. Levi breathed with relief, because even if he and his alpha could have resisted the icy winter, Armin and Eren were still too young. Luckily, the old pervert’s heart still hadn’t totally withered. Still, they couldn’t afford to wait anymore. So, in the last weeks, Erwin had organized patrols to look for the right place to build a new village, where anyone would be welcomed, be they from Trost or Pixis’ pack.

After the incident that almost cost Levi’s innocence, Pixis guided his pack with renewed vigor. He had the scumbags that assaulted the beta beaten almost to death and exiled them to the furthest territories of the Forest, towards the slopes of the mountains, where the winter would end the dirty work for Pixis. The olda Alpha was still up to his name. He had made them an example: a werewolf was not, under any circumstance, lay a claw over his brethren.

Levi was satisfied with the Commanding Alpha’s decision, but Erwin had steamed in rage for days. It had upset the pups, but gave Levi a lot of good time between the sheets. An angry Erwin was a possessive and relentless Erwin and the raven basked in the attention. Fucking sue him.

The little wolves nuzzled Levi’s bonding scars, and the raven felt his instincts kick in, forcing him to hug Armin and Eren closer. Weekes had passed since his first heat and things had changed between he and Erwin. Now they were truly a couple, they felt like it, relying on each other and silently understanding the other’s thoughts. Where one couldn’t arrive, the other was happy to provide help and support. For some strange reason, since he claimed his own alpha, Levi came to notice the bonding scars upon other wolves, too: on Hanji’s and Petra’s necks, and the matching ones over their alphas… every single mark was unique.

The raven would gladly take the secret to his grave, but the sense of belonging that that gave him was indescribable.

He was dragged from his thoughts by a yapping Eren. “Okay, okay, we’re going. But if one of you misbehave-“ Levi glared at Eren in particular “-we’re coming straight back home and you’ll deal with your father. I’m not covering for your little butts, kids, not this time.” The little cubs flattened their ears, because Erwin was big, gentle and he never got angry with them. But they had seen how strong and merciless he could be when they met their Mama for the first time, and their Dad had protected all of them. So they would be good pups, yes.

Levi rose to his feet, walking beside Petra and always keeping an eye out for the two children.

“The alternative path we found the other day goes around the pond, there.” Pointed Petra, explaining another route to reach the place where Erwin was considering to build their new home. It was a few miles away from Pixis’ pack village, not too far in the Forest because they needed the river waters that run in the proximity, but not too close as to risk stomping on each other’s feet. Yet, Pixis had agreed to leave to Erwin the western part of his territories to manage, since the blonde alpha was more inclined to deal with humans than Pixis. That was the direction where the nearest humans’ village was. Where Shiganshina was.

Obviously, Erwin Smith had a list of thirty-five points as to why this fact could benefit his new pack and Levi knew that among the numerous reasons there was his old family. Uncle Kenny and Mikasa.

One night, still folded against his mate’s chest and wrapped together under a thick blanket on their little couch, the beta had voiced his desires to go back to Shiganshina and reunite with his human family. Erwin had frozen, looking at him with lost eyes. Levi had reassured him that he didn’t mean to stay with them, but only reunite his two worlds: he was sure that his uncle and his sister would love his family of werewolves. Levi missed them a lot, but knew that he had to choose the right moment to go back and get the things right. Erwin had listened and made him reason all the pros and cons of this decision, running his big hands in comforting circles on the beta’s bare back. They concluded that maybe they could start building new relationships with Shiganshina inhabitants, trading goods and gaining trust in each other. And when Eren and Armin were old enough to control their transformation, hiding furry ears and tails, they all could go and meet Levi’s family. After all, the two pups didn’t have good memories about humans and they had to trail on thin ice not to ruin any chance for their sons to accept humans in the family.

The raven had smiled his small, precious and secretive smile, the one he reserved for his mate and his boys and Erwin had made slow, sweet love to him until Armin had woken up because he had to pee.

Levi shook his head and focused again on Petra’s words. “It’s a good way to reach Pixis’ village, because it would remain downwind. We can see the river valley, too, until it reaches the thick vegetation downstream. We would be in a strategical position.”

Hanji nodded between laughs – Eren had tried to jump from a big stone to another, but had tumbled like a fur ball, Armin barking at his expenses. “Yeah” said the cheerful beta “I can see the vantages, but it could make us more exposed to the weather… maybe if we push against the flank of the mountain we’d be more protected.” They patted their index over the chin, pensive.

“Yeah… I don’t know if six months are enough to build-“ Levi stopped speaking and the three adults sniffed the air, frozen like statues. The two pups perceived the change and quickly reached their Mama’s legs, flattening with their belly the ground.

Petra, Hanji and Levi turned their heads to the left, where a couple of wolves came out from behind the stones and low branches coasting the river bank.

“Hey, Mylius! Hannah…” waved Hanji with a grin. “Everything alright?”

The bigger wolf, a dusty grey beast, nodded and snorted through his nose, breath dispersing in the air in small clouds. He blinked once, yellow eyes studying the small group.

“Oh… don’t mind us!” Hanji shrugged and dismissed them with a shooing wave of their hand “We’re only taking the pups for a walk. We’ll see you around, yeah?”

The smaller of the two wolves on patrol nodded and resumed their walk, soon followed by her companion and disappearing from the sight. If Levi was in his wolf form, he’d be able to perceive the rest of the wolves patrolling the area together with Mylius and Hannah. But now, his senses weren’t so sharp. Blue-grey eyes followed the two retiring forms until they could, then returned over his companions.

“See? Since they came from that direction and didn’t find anything, we can try to cross the river!” said Hanji and started to drop their clothes and hide them behind a rock.

Levi sighed “I’m still not so sure that this is a good idea. We have two dead weights with us…” and started to lose his boots laces.

“Levi, don’t speak about them in such a way! They can understand you! They already got through a lot of traumatic things… they don’t need their mother to berate them!” Petra quipped from behind the trunk of a tree. She was undressing, too.

“Better the hard truth than some shi- crappy soft cottoned lie!” replied the raven haired beta, closing his eyes to focus on his shift. Eren and Armin were oblivious to the adults’ problems, strolling in the snow and making too much noise. In the silence of the snow covered Forest, their shenanigans resulted even louder.

“How hard! You have to learn to be more flexible!” gasped Petra, slowly changing into her wolf form.

“Ahahah!” Hanji cackled loudly, butt naked, hands on their hips “I bet that’s what our Commander likes the best! _Hard and flexible_! Aaall night long!”

A black wolf came out from his hiding spot and was immediately surrounded by two happy little wolves. He turned an icy glare to the brown wolf snorting in some resemblance of a laugh.

 _-Hanji, shut the_ fu-n _up. It’s those kind of things that my boys don’t need to hear, you crazy ass porcupine!_

_-Mama, what’s a crazy ass porcupine?_

_-Our dear Hanji, here, is. Look at them from afar, Armin, and try not to catch the same disease._

_-Mama can we go near the water? Can we? Eh? Eh?_

_-Ah, Levi, my dear constipated squirrel… deny it until you die, if it pleases you, but we’ve all seen how neat and fresh your bond marks are! Right, Petra, my girl?_

_-…Weeeell…_

_-Petra, please. Not you, too._

_-Mama, can we go? Come oooon, Mama!_

_-Eren, Mama’s talking with auntie Petra._

Eren huffed through his nose, the cute sound more similar to a purr than to one of annoyance. The brunet pup turned on his heel and went straight to the river bank, where its waters created small vortex, due to the proximity of dry ground.

_-Eren, wait!_

_-Come here Armin, look at all this bright stones in the water!_

The blonde pup trotted toward his sibling, while Eren ventured into the freezing waters.

_-Wah, it’s cold!_

_-Of course, it is, cinnamon roll!_

_-Eren, don’t go near the waters, it’s slippery-!_

Levi didn’t even end the phrase that the telltale sound of splashing water announced that the pup had successfully fallen into the river.

Armin was yapping worriedly on the riverside, blue eyes never leaving the spluttering sibling. Hanji was laughing bent in half, so it was Petra who went to fish Eren out the freezing water. She took him by the scruff and took the small wolf to his parent.

Levi had a severe problem stopping rolling his eyes, but when Petra brought him the pup, all the annoyance disappeared. Eren was freezing, teeth chattering and tail curled between his legs. The black furred beta curled around his little ones, Armin immediately joining the improvised cuddling session, providing more warmth.

_-You’re a walking disaster. Why don’t you listen? Like, ever?_

_-Aw, come on, Levi, don’t you see he’s already learnt his lesson?_

_-Hanji, let Levi manage this, he’s their mother. And stop laughing, it isn’t nice._

_-You two, come here. The more we are, the warmer we get._

The black werewolf ordered and promptly Petra and Hanji crouched near the beta and the two pups, that were slowly falling asleep. It was not the ideal arrangement, but they couldn’t go on with their exploration with Eren soaked to the bone. Levi had hoped to teach his sons something about hunt and survival, but he had to resign to wait for the baby werewolf to dry and regain some strength, so they could be back to the village before dark.

That night, while putting Armin and Eren to sleep, Erwin told Levi what agreement they had reached with Pixis.

“The old man says it’s okay?” asked Levi, leaning against the bedroom door and cradling a cup of tea between his hands.

Erwin nodded, words hushed as he tucked Eren in –for the third time. The boy had a thing for getting tangled in the sheets and uncovering poor Armin. “Yeah. He said we can occupy the western grounds of the Forests. He won’t help us, but neither he will hinder the building process, so if we need wood or stones, we can pass through the Pixis’ territories without having to extend the journey.”

“Tch, how noble of him.” Whispered Levi with sarcasm.

Erwin chuckled at Eren, who moved his leg and whined in his dream. Armin instinctively scooted closer to the brunet and soon the lively boy relaxed.

“I consider it a small victory. We have to pay attention to not attract the humans’ attention, so Pixis not complicating our lives will allow us to focus only on one front.”

“Uhu.” Levi nodded, following Erwin’s reasoning. He let the blonde alpha guide him to the couch, a hand on the small of his back. “Any idea on the number of wolves that’s going to follow you?”

Erwin’s impressive eyebrows knitted together and he sat gracelessly on the cushion of their sofa, pulling the raven in his lap sideways, with both his legs on the couch armrest. Levi knew him well enough to know how tired he was of playing this weird ass chess game with the old Commanding Alpha.

“I don’t know for sure, but-“ Levi knew for sure that the man had already done his counts. “I reckon at least twenty. Ten more if Erd and Gunther can persuade some of Trost pack. Plus, six pups.”

Levi whistled low. It was a lot of wolves. And they were all set to follow Erwin. The raven beta knew his mate would be an amazing leader and he had proven himself again with the Trost incident. As the alpha hugged him harder, but not enough to make Levi precious tea spill, the beta closed his eyes and purred involuntarily. Soon enough the familiar low rumble of Erwin’s croon rose from his chest in response.

“I know you’ll do fine. We’ll be alright.” Said Levi, eyes closed as his alpha’s lips traced the skin over his temple.

“I really hope so.” Answered Erwin, blue eyes lost in the crackling orange flames dancing in the fireplace.


	13. The beginning – part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's still someone, out there, caring for Eruri and for this story... I'm really sorry!!!   
> This chapter was difficult for a lot of reasons... but know that even if I'm deadly slow, I'm going to finish this. You can say that I wrote every previous chapter just to arrive to this very point.  
> So I'm sorry. And thanks to all of you who have the patience to stick with me <3

Erwin hummed while sorting the papers Erd and Gunther had given him with the details about the works going on to the new village. He needed to rethink about the disposition of some buildings, a little bridge to go back to Pixis’… but he was most worried about, what Petra and Hanji had found during one of their rounds: suspicious signs of human presence, both around their new village and around Pixis’ territories. Obviously the blond alpha and his group had already spoke to the old Commanding Alpha and they all agreed to intensify the security patrols.

It was a difficult task in these times, since almost every wolf of Erwin’s pack was busy building their new home. So it left with Pixis’ remaining wolves and the volunteers from Trost pack, who were still too scared or too angry at the humans, to be of any effective help. Erwin remembered when Hanji had spoken to Levi about their suspicions, showing him the tracks they had found: the beta had been silent for long, wanting to go and see for himself if he could find anything else… and, alas, find something he did. It was like Levi had always known where to look for certain traces, apparently insignificant details.

Erwin’s eyebrows lowered over pensive blue eyes, the image of Levi’s grim expression fixed in his mind. His mate had took Erd and Mike and past the last days on their own, running back and forth in search of god knew what. Initially, Erwin had fought to be an active part of Levi’s research but the beta had reasoned with him, telling the blonde that he was much more needed at the new village, watching over their dens and future. Then he had kissed the alpha with transport, licking and nibbling his lips, pulling his hair, knowing all too well that Erwin would be goo in Levi’s sneaky hands.

He huffed, worried about what Levi would find –because it was only a matter of _when_ : surely his mate would find what he was looking for, and passed a hand through Armin’s fluffy hair, eliciting a purr in response. The pup was curled in his Dad’s lap, tired from an afternoon spent reading with the alpha after a week long fever. Luckily it wasn’t too serious a thing, but Erwin really would have gone nuts, if Levi hadn’t take the situation in his hands.

The raven haired beta had made the big alpha sit and look after Eren while he fretted over Armin, who raved for the high fever and puked his poor soul out. Erwin didn’t even count how many pajamas Armin was changed into –and consequently how many he had to wash, or how few hours the beta slept during the week… and even in that state, Levi had gone patrolling and working to their new village like always.

Erwin had found a new level of respect for his mate and mothers in general.

The alpha released a sigh through his nose, relieved to feel Armin’s forehead finally at a normal temperature. The blonde pup moved his furry ears, gurgling pleased in his throat for all the attentions. After a few minutes, he opened his foggy blue eyes, fixing them on his father.

“Ehy, you,” smiled Erwin, cupping the back of Armin’s head with a big hand, “how do you feel?”

Armin squeezed his eyes and scrunched his button nose, yawning like a kitty “ ’m fine,” rasped with a sleepy voice. With tiny fists he rubbed his eyes.

Erwin fell victim to the cuteness and took the pup into his arms, cradling him like a precious doll. “You feel like eating or drinking something?” obviously he was recycling everything he watched Levi do during the last days. Armin yawned again and nodded “Maybe some milk…”

“With honey?” pressed Erwin and he knew he had done well the moment Armin smiled sweetly, puffing his round cheeks, red like two apples after the long nap.

Armin squeaked an embarrassed “Yes, please,” still not used to be spoiled to such shaming levels. _This boy would be his end. The ultimate weapon against Erwin Smith. His last surrender._

Erwin Smith was so engrossed with his pup that missed the door of the den opening by his very mate, who fixed the tooth rotting scene between the alpha and his son with an unimpressed look. The blonde alpha raised the child by his armpits to his eye-level and brushed his nose against the pup’s, making him giggle.

“I swear if I was a lesser man I’d be dying with my arteries clogged by sugar,” said Levi, taking off his boots.

Erwin whipped his head toward the raven, bewildered, while Armin squealed “Mama!” jumping over his father’s legs excited.

Levi snorted at a flailing Armin and just when he was straightening his boots by the door, from the outside came a well-known hubbub of laughter and playful growls. “Don’t tell me Eren raced again Mike and Hanji…” puffed Erwin, standing from the sofa and taking Armin with him. The pup began jumping in his father’s arms, curious about his brother. “Where’s Eren?” he asked, moving his furry ears and sniffing around, not understanding where the other little wolf was. “Mama, did you finally drop him in the river to fill his empty head with water?” asked innocently Armin, cocking his head.

Levi swore Erwin had acquired the consistence of pudding: the big alpha was literally swooning all over the little blonde. Fucking hilarious. The raven filed all that as blackmail material for the future. “No Armin, your bullhead of a brother is out there playing in the mud with uncle Mike, demented Hanji and a whining Auruo. I swear I’ll skin his cute little butt if he comes back dirty like a pig like the last time,” Levi shoot a pointed look at his alpha.

“I’ll go and say hello from the window!” exclaimed Armin, kicking for his freedom from Erwin’s hug and running towards the big panes in the living room that faced the front yard. Levi and Erwin heard him laugh and jump, probably at the faces that someone was pulling from the other side of their window. Levi huffed, having had enough of this shenanigans for the day, since he had been to the new village with the rest of their squad plus one excited Eren all day long. Erwin sighed, swooning over Armin’s little form, while circling Levi’s stiff shoulders and pulling him towards his larger figure.

“What?” asked the beta, knowing that sort of wistful sighing.

“Mmh…” hummed Erwin, eyes always trained over the blond pup. “I’ll cry when our little boy will stop being cute and start paying attention to alphas,” he snorted, a note of annoyance in his voice “I’ll put every single one of them through hell, before deciding who’s worthy of Armin.”

Levi’s eyes went wide at the blatant declaration. “Man, sure you alphas are territorial motherfuckers!” hissed Levi. The beta was having a hard time controlling his swearing habit. But this time he needed to freely express himself.

For good measure, Erwin started to nose Levi’s neck, right over his scent glands, knowing perfectly well how his mate didn’t absolutely mind his possessiveness. Specially between the sheets. “I’ll look forward to your reaction when the time comes your sweet omega pup will leave the den. I’m sure you’ll gut any suitor who dares nearing our house.”

“You can fucking bet on that,” snorted Levi, crossing his arms in a display of annoyance, but moving his head to leave his alpha more space to mark him. “But,” he added with a shit eating grin, “what makes you think that Armin will be an omega?”

Erwin was mouthing behind Levi’s right ear, leaving a hot trail of kisses but stopped to look his mate in the eyes. His impressive eyebrows were arched over incredulous blue orbs. “What do you mean? Of course Armin’s going to present as an omega!”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“If I were you, I’d open my eyes and look at said pup: how could he not be an omega, with all the fluffy cuteness he is?!”

In that exact moment, the front door opened, revealing a very tired but happy Eren, all rosy cheeks and short breath for the game he played. “Hey Dad!” and then, “Ewww!” said Eren scrunching his nose, looking at the serene embrace in which his parents were engaged and sniffing their mixing scent, too spicy and sweet for his young nose to recognize the scent of desire and love, but pesky non the less. “Grown-ups are gross!”

“ _You_ are gross, you filthy brat!” flared Levi, eyeing murderously the mud that coated his son’s legs and butt. “Leave your shoes here this instant, or I’ll use your tail to wash the floor,” _and_ Hanji’s tongue to rinse it. “Go straight in the bathroom and if I find even one speck of dirt in your trail…” he tightened his eyes, making Eren swallow and obey his mother.

“…Sorry?” mumbled Eren, used to his Mama’s quirk for cleanliness. He had tried to be considerate and don’t stain his clothes, but then Hanji challenged him saying that only the fastest wolves were chosen to be trained like them and Levi. Oh, Eren would run as fast as he could just to be in the same squad as his Mama! The little chocolate furred pup adored his mother and even if he was smaller than the average and a beta, Levi was the quickest and strongest wolf he knew! So strong that even his Dad, who was undoubtedly one of the strongest wolf out there, was afraid of angering Levi!

Eren still remembered, even if a bit confused, when Levi had saved them from the humans! So even if his Mama wasn’t around and he needed to defend Armin, he would be strong!

Eren swallowed and sank his head between his small shoulders, eyes downcast and furred ears low over his head.

“Oh, Eren…” murmured Armin, who came back from his spot by the window. The blond wolf kneeled beside his brother and brushed some of the chocolate locks from his forehead, in a consolatory gesture. “You know Mama gets angry when you come back all dirty,” the severity and compassion in the blonde pup’s eyes were beyond his years, speaking of future wisdom and early maturity.

Eren nodded, always looking down. “Come on,” carried on Armin with a reassuring smile “I’ll help you clean up and make sure you don’t ruin Mama’s floor. It’ll be alright.”

Eren’s peacock eyes rose and sparkled as he nodded vigorously to his brother, a smile already lightening his face “Thanks, Ar! You’re the best of the best!” and he threw his arms around Armin’s neck, nuzzling the blondie’s cheek first, then his warm neck. The action calmed Eren down, since Armin was soft, warm and smelled like home. The blond wolf giggled and brought his little hand on Eren’s nape, scratching it affectionately and hugging him tighter.

The two little pups hugged by the feet of their bewildered parents, purring aloud and making the air marshmallow scented. Soon Armin was taking Eren by his hand, guiding him towards the bathroom and watching out for the brunet’s muddy clothes.

Levi, always caged by Erwin’s arms, turned his head to the alpha “Omega, you say?”, one thin eyebrow arched over grey eyes.

***

Erwin’s fingers reverently traced for the umpteenth time the dip of Levi’s spine, still damp with sweat and colored in faint orange by the smoldering fire lightening the room. The beta was sensually sprawled over his mate, arms crossed over the alpha’s chest, cradling his head, purring like a fat cat who just ate the canary. Well, in a way, he did.

Only when the blonde’s hand stranded from the innocent path, drove to the cleft of his ass, did Levi shiver. Didn’t know if it was for the not so subtle innuendo of his mate or the cold that finally reached pale skin through the fog of passion.

Of course, the movement didn’t escape Erwin’s notice and the alpha reached blindly around, until he grabbed his white button up, discarded on the floor of the living room. He brought the piece of cloth over the raven’s shoulders, partly covering him.

Levi purred louder, nuzzling his mate’s chest, spreading their mixed scents over cooling skin. He knew that soon Erwin would be ready to go on with their life –as for now, it meant take a quick shower and sleep away the rest of the night squashed between the two sleeping and kicking pups, to be ready and toasty for tomorrow. Right now, Levi fucking loathed the idea of moving. The blond had gone all alpha on him: the beta was sure that watching their two sons fueled Erwin’s instincts to breed him. Fucking giant wolf, if Levi was able to move an inch he would have torn the smug grin painted over that model’s face with his own claws. And don’t you be misguided by his purring. Oh, no, that was only collateral damage. It was not because he was satisfied. Nope.

“Come on, Levi, before one of the pups wakes up…”

“Nhhhh…Fuck you, eyebrows. Who do you think we have to thank if I can’t move even a finger?” slurred slash purred the beta. Again, that was not purring. Probably something caught in Levi’s throat.

Erwin laughed softly, jerking Levi who was still using him like a mattress. “I didn’t hear you complain. Not before and not now, if we’re all adults and honest,” that traitor hand moved to Levi’s nape and that was another level of self-control for the poor beta.

Who was the most stubborn shit in town, so he effectively elbowed Erwin in the stomach “Oh, yeah, now shut the fuck up and take me to the bathroom, you filthy animal,” hissed Levi.

A few seconds later Erwin surged from the sofa with a liquid movement, silent like the big bad wolf he was, taking Levi bridal style toward the bathroom. Nuzzled the raven’s temple, relishing in his still damp hair, skin soft and enticingly smelling like their coupling. Along their way, he stopped in front of their bedroom door and strained to hear any noise coming from the inside.

“They’re sleeping”, smiled Erwin, Eren’s snoring coming right through the wooden door.

Levi sneered, crossing his arms over his chest “I want a room for the brats. And I want a heavier door for our bedroom. I’m so fucking done with sneaking around in my own den like some teenager hiding from their parents!”

Erwin nodded, serious, “I promise that you’ll have that,” _and more_ , thought the alpha, who still shivered whenever Levi spoke about his house, _their den_ , in such terms. Erwin was a sap and liked to spoil rotten his mate, they both knew it. The alpha didn’t hear Levi complain even when he took the beta again in their tub, too slow and sweet, trying –and failing, to keep their voices down.

***

Levi hobbled to his seat in the kitchen following a sleepy Eren, who still didn’t like the idea of being left behind for the day. A grumpy Eren was a difficult Eren and with only a few hours of sleep on him, Levi could feel a fucking headache coming from a distance.

“Eren, I told you-“ Levi tried to say, massaging his temples.

“No! I wanna go with you!” the little wolf complained, puffing his cheeks and wagging obstinately his tail, but following his morning routine nonetheless. At the moment, he and his Mama were sitting at the table, where Dad and Armin had already made breakfast. At the first signals of family squabble, Armin always tensed, stopping anything he was doing, tail between his legs and furry ears flat against his blonde head. He looked between his brother and Levi, trying to understand what the problem was.

“Mama?” he asked tentatively.

“It’s alright, sweetheart,” provided Erwin and immediately tried to calm down the boy caressing his ears, “it only seems that your brother doesn’t want to go to play with Nanaba and the others.”

“Oh,” said dejectedly Armin. He really liked to play with the other pups, but was still shy and Eren was a very important presence for him. Levi opened his arms in invitation and pulled Armin towards himself, the boy fisted the cloth of his pants, nuzzling his Mama leg while the raven pet his head.

Erwin noticed Eren fidgeting, already wise about how the scene would end. He repressed a smile. After only a few seconds, their lively child gave in, launching himself against Levi’s free leg and hugging it, wagging his tail and slightly jumping “Okay, okay, I’ll go, Mama! Don’t leave me here!”

“Mmh…” Levi hummed, not denying the pup his touch: as soon as the beta caressed Eren’s hair, he began to purr and Armin visibly relaxed. “No one was going to leave you behind, baby, but I told you a _d_ uck ton of times that today your father and I have a lot to do and we don’t have time to play with you. So, unless you want to bore yourself to the frigging death, you better go with your brother, be a good pup, make us proud and don’t be a little _shi_ \- sheep.”

“I’m no sheep, Mama!” said Eren, irked by the idea of being compared to a herbivore, “I’m a wolf! Look, look at my teeth!” he made a face, showing his pointed canines.

Armin giggled “Papa has bigger teeth… and more sharp too!”

“Sharper,” corrected softly Erwin, sitting in a crouch before his kids and grinning like an idiot, showing his denture, too.

“Sharper!” repeated dutifully Armin and imitating his father. The two blond wolves looked at each other, then to Eren, who burst in laughter. Levi was still petting his children heads, rolling his eyes so hard he feared his eye balls would stuck that way forever. Why, he asked to the heavens, why had to be him, who had the most absurd, idiotic, problematic, improbable, insupportably sweet family?!

Right when the trio of misfits began to playfully roar, trying to overpower one another, Levi intervened “Ok, ok, stop right _d_ ucking now. You two,” pointing at Armin and Eren “sit and eat your breakfast, then wash your teeth, for the love of everything holy! And you,” drilling Erwin with a hard stare, still crouched at his feet, “…mmmh. I don’t dislike that position,” Levi couldn’t resist and showed his crooked smile, mischievous and secret. “You can stay there and adore me.”

Erwin rose with earthy laugh, cheeks faintly blushed. He liked his mate’s forwardness. “I thought I adored you plenty last night.”

“Dad always adores Mama!” chirped Eren from the table, his mouth full with eggs. Armin nodded appreciatively, fair tail wagging happily.

Levi snorted, crossing his arms in front of himself, satisfied and relieved that the two kids still weren’t ole enough to understand “You can say that, brat! Gotta have my daily share of worship!” Erwin had the decency to appear ashamed and turned to bring the rest of the cutlery for their breakfast, amidst his pups’ innocent laughter.

When the family was finally able to leave the den, the early spring sun was already high in the sky, blue and clear, thanks to quite a breeze that kept any cloud low on the horizon. The high trees sang in the wind, launching their still bare branches towards the sky. Erwin and Levi had left their kids in Nanaba’s care with the rest of the pack, and were now directed to the new village.

As works proceeded they could almost see some resemblance of what the future village were going to be. But as soon as they arrived Levi called everyone and with Erd proceeded to inform the other of their finds: “We followed the traces down till the river,” said Erd “and from there to Pixis’ eastern border. Whoever dared to come that near to us, knew what they were doing. They kept in consideration tracks, promptly covered by the rain and the wind. Mike was barely able to follow the trail through the Forest of giant trees.”

“So they were able to come and go through it?” said Petra, worry clear in her eyes.

Erd nodded “They didn’t end here by chance, they came here to explore and look for something,” said the blond alpha, one of Erwin’s more treasured scouts. He had wits, good instincts and a level head on his shoulders.

“I followed ‘em till the men’s weir,” added Mike.

“Shiganshina?” asked Hanji looking at their mate, who grunted and nodded.

Erwin’s imposing eyebrows lowered considerably in a grim expression. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

Levi tch-ed “We weren’t sure. We were able to gather this few information in more than a week of constant search. You sent Mike, Erd and me out. We’re the _best_ , Erwin,” hissed the beta and even if his exterior maintained the usual aloofness, his voice was heated “if we had difficulties in finding out that some one – some fucking human – is out to snoop around here, they are really good. Too good. All this story smell like shit and I don’t like it!”

Erwin was looking at his mate, seeing more than the raven was showing, a much deeper concern. They already had men wandering through their forests, lost. They already had idiot hunters and poachers. They always dealt with them no problem, so why was Levi so riled up? Erwin didn’t know and didn’t like the way Levi’s arms were folded protectively in front of him, stiff. So he searched the raven’s eyes and waited.

“We think they have returned to the village.”

“And you’re worried because…?” asked Auruo.

Levi bared his teeth and hissed again and when he spoke again, Erwin felt a shiver running down his spine. “Because if they’re from Shiganshina, it means that they’re Pathfinders. _I_ come from Shiganshina. _I_ was a Pathfinder,” and when no one still reacted to that, he added “The man who taught me everything about hunt is still there. My sister, too.”

“And are they any good?” inquired Gunther, not really wanting to know.

Levi smiled, but it seemed more he was having a renal colic “You have no fucking idea.”

“What do you think they want?” pressed Erwin.

“I don’t know, really. We-“ he cleared his voice, memories of a distant life coming back to him. _”I don’t know how we can help you,”_ had said Kenny _“Unless you’re asking us to bring to you Woerman’s head. In which case-“ Kenny didn’t leave Zackley a chance to interrupt “I hereby refuse. And so do my kids.” Levi and Mikasa were tense, but nodded immediately at their uncle words._

_“How dare you, old recluse of a billygoat…!” Shadis was furious, but a sign by Darius shut him._

_Zackley grimaced “Always so rude, Ackerman. I confess the thought crossed my mind, but… the danger of starting a civil war between our two villages was too high. I couldn’t risk that,” he chose his next words “But I took a pledge with Woerman.  He made a request and I agreed to try and get him what he wanted.”_

_Kenny was starting to lose his patience, his arms crossed on his chest “Speak your mind, Darius, I don’t like to be asked a favor and being led astray.”_

_“Woerman wants a wolf, Kenny. Dead or alive, it doesn’t matter. In the inner lands their fur, or anything else, really, is very expensive and considered a status symbol. That’s to be our wedding offer.”_

Levi passed the lump in his throat and went on speaking, explaining to his pack what the deal was. They deduced that Levi’s past was a good point where to start, they could probably go back to Shiganshina and discreetly look around for something that could explain these strange incursions. And if the Ackermans were involved, then they had to pay a due visit. Levi was thrilled: his instincts were overdrive with something akin fear and he didn’t want to reunite with his family in such a way… didn't want to reappear after months only to insinuate that they could be part of a terrible plan, he wanted to do it right, but it seemed he didn’t have the time.

The raven haired beta smiled bitterly.

Before the end of the meeting, Erwin had divided his wolves in groups, so that someone could stay back to supervise the works, someone would talk to Pixis about the matter and others would have to go and snoop around Shiganshina. Obviously Levi would be part of the last squad, since he knew the village first hand.

Everything was ready and organized, so that the following day they could be on the move and finally try to understand what those ghosts, that apparently had been stalking them for weeks, wanted.

 _“The Forest is life, the Forest has a heart. Today you can have a piece of that life, but always be ready to return what you took. For the Forest will come back to take your life, eventually,”_ was what uncle Kenny used to say.

And when Erwin, Levi and the others went back to Pixis’ pack, and found the ground soaked in blood and the air filled with screams and smoke, the raven trembled in fear and remembered how true those words were.


	14. Pathfinder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos and the comments that I still receive <3  
> I can't believe how wonderful you all are!!! And even if I'm terrible at updating, your interest keeps me going! Love you all!  
> On a better note, we're entering the final parts of this story and I wanted to ask you what kind of dynamic do you think little Armin and Eren will turn out to be?

The sunlight coming through the closed curtains woke her. Better, forced her to rise, cause since they returned a couple days before, she hadn’t really been able to sleep.

She scratched her raven bed-hair, a slightly frowning expression setting on her usually aloof face. She wasn’t weak at all, nor it was the first time they went together deep into the Forest to hunt. But it was the first time returning with bitterness plastered unto her tongue, imprinted into her nostrils, carved into her soul. That was strange. That was not right.

The sensation of those cages closing, the rusted locks snapping around heavy chains…she shivered despite the mild temperature of the room.

The girl shook her head and pushed those thoughts aside, thus falling into a safe routine: wash, dress, check the knife, eat breakfast – _alone_. A lot of things had changed in the last year and even more so after the last hunt. She refused to rise black eyes from the plate, in fear to see the void left in the hut.

She swallowed around the lump residing in her throat and prepared to face another wasted day. A day in which she’d have to face what they had done, the dark place where their past failure had lead them.

She really didn’t want to descend those moldy stairs down the basement again.

**

Erwin sat with Pixis and some of the elders of Trost, hour after hour, listing all the damage their pack had sustained. The fire had destroyed some of the buildings and a dozen wolves patrolled around to assess the loss to the Forest. The wind that day had been strong enough to cover the hunters’ traces and spreading the flames.

Under Erwin’s tight fists rested two pages filled with names: one for the dead, the other for the missing. Voices and eyes were low, souls were shattered once again and anger and fear were being fed by the wind blowing from the warm south, spreading like the flames.

Hanji offered to help bury who lost their life and someone from Trost was there, too, to identify their own brethren. Erwin’s dead eyes fell on the list, looking between the names: Darius, Nifa, Dirk, Marlowe, Dita. They all tried to help Nanaba protect the little ones and they all died. They found them all gathered around the playground. Mina, Thomas, Daz, Nac, Marco. He remembered the little freckled pup playing around his own…

The blond alpha willed his lungs to keep breathing, closed his eyes in the effort of keeping his face straight. Cut out Pixis’ voice telling someone what to do and he felt like a year ago, when hearing about dead pups had made him lose himself to his own beast.

Knew that desperation and self-loathing was useless, he had to act. Even if inside he was dying, because he had a mate that actually felt like shit, trembling in another’s den, alternating between wanting to rip the throat of the ones who did this and his own. Only a few dens away, but too far. Alone in his brother’s den, because- _who the fuck would want to enter a den that has no more pups in it?_

Erwin’s jaw tightened more, if possible, as he read other names: Sasha, Jean, Bertholdt, Reiner, Connie.

Eren and Armin.

His pups.

They were in the missing list, the only frail hope was not having found their corpses. Yet.

Erwin fell absolutely still, trying to rein his own wolf and Levi’s, that through their bond trembled like a leaf. Or like a flame before roaring to life and incinerating everything around it. The black beta had passed the first twenty four hours after the attack to the village shifting between his forms, howling and crying and screaming and scratching his own skin, because how could someone steal a pup from their mother? Kill them?

And Erwin had to stay with him, the only remnant of his family. Not only for Levi’s sanity, but for his own too, because he knew that without Levi, he would have succumb to the rage again and the beast’d have lead him straight to the culprit…but at what price?

They needed to think of a plan, decide how to proceed and prepare to attack. Because even if Pixis was trying to stall and delay the decision, to not mine the peace they hardly acquired during the years, he knew the old Alpha. And under the cool, detached appearance Erwin could see he too was on the brink of sanity. You don’t desecrate the Forest and Life in such a –horrible, coward, way. If fate wanted the assailants back in their homes, well Erwin’d make sure to go and collect the debt there, where they thought to be the safest.   

Growling in the back of his throat, Erwin read again names that were starting to lose their meaning. He made the effort to remember the faces, wishing to be already out there running and taking his rightful revenge.

“Erwin,” it was Mike.

“…Tell me you found something.”

“Nothing much,” Hanji said “we’ve taken care of the fire and the dead. We collected all the testimonies from the injured and they all said the same thing-“

Erwin growled ferociously and interrupted them “I don’t want to know about the dead, I want to know about the living!”

Mike positioned himself between his mate and brother, broad shoulders poised in a defensive stance. His nose curled in response, exposing his own set of teeth, “Watch your action, Erwin, you know Hanji’s doing everything possible to find the pups.”

“Well the possible is not enough!”

Erwin rose and approached Mike, the two giant alphas almost chest to chest, snarling like bulls from their noses, forgetting all the other wolves around them, lost in their grief. The more sensible dynamics cowered against the walls and Pixis deemed that was the moment to intervene.

“ENOUGH,” the old Alpha commanded, all his power of leading dynamic in that word. And if Mike felt the domination and relented in his display, Erwin was able to ignore it, due to his being fit for the role of Commanding Alpha.

“I didn’t think your resolution could waver in front of such circumstances. Did I overestimate you, little alpha?” scoffed Pixis.

“Did you, old man?” repeated Erwin after a few seconds, shifting his icy stare on the man. Around them the elders and the few other wolves present were completely still, ironically, like rabbits in front of bigger predators. Didn’t dare to move during a brawl between commanding alphas.

“I really hope not. Sit your stupid ass again, Smith. Listen to what your Scout has to say and call for your mate. I want him here.”

Erwin’s nostrils flared “Don’t you even dare name him.”

“Sir, can’t you spare him this-“ Petra tried to say, but before Pixis could answer, she turned towards the door of the room, where she sensed her own mate coming from.

Auruo made his entrance followed by the very wolf they were speaking about. Levi was a ghost, to say the least: scentless, pale and lifeless, his movements heavy like the eyelids that covered eyes as empty as Erwin’s. Petra saw he was in his human form, but retained the furred ears and tail and her heart shattered. Because Levi couldn’t transform in his wolf for he would feel the loss of his pups more acutely, nor stay totally human, since he instinctively needed to be nearer his brothers and their minds to feel, at least, part of the Forest… and being stuck in the middle was the only way the beta had found to ease part of his anguish.

“Levi,” Hanji whispered and trotted toward him, Petra soon behind, flanking the raven to physically let him feel their company. He walked slowly, a hand grabbing the hem of Erwin’s black jackets that hung from his slightly slumped shoulders, preventing it from falling off.

Petra sent a hard stare at Auruo, who had the duty to stay with Levi and let him rest. Auruo answered with a whispered sorry and a more eloquent stare toward the raven wolf. Petra huffed, knowing perfectly well that Auruo idolized Levi and he hadn’t even tried to stop him. _Clumsy fanboy_.

Levi took in the scene with darker than usual eyes, lips a tad bit thinner. And his pups were gone only two days before. His black tail swished right and left restlessly.

Erwin’s heart lost a piece every time he looked at his mate and felt that even in his arm he was not at ease. He didn’t need to smell Levi to know what he was feeling: the beta, in fact, was being very careful in not giving away any scent at all. He was like a small black hole, sucking everything in its wake, void all around it. Absorbing Erwin’s breath, too.

The blonde alpha felt Levi’s hollowness through the bond and thought that, in the end, he didn’t need to breathe. Could as well give it to Levi.

The beta looked into his alpha’s eyes, hard and with the immovable strength of stone against a mere mirror, said “Stop blaming Hanji. They’re suffering, too, you big idiot.”

Silence. And Erwin opened his mouth to try and say something –anything, to explain, but the stone kept knocking over the already cracked mirror, “They’re bird brained and don’t know how to show it, so it’s up to you to understand they’re in pain.”

“And you, baldie” to Pixis, sneering from his nose like he owned the damn place “what the fuck are you still waiting for? An official invitation from Shiganshina? There are many other pups who have been taken away other than my kids. Stop chatting, pull your head from your asses and let’s fucking do something. I know the village, I was one of their Pathfinders, for heaven’s sake! I can take you there without even a horse noticing. And those neighing fuckers have the most precise sense for us.”

And clicked his tongue annoyed.

Silence again. Crickets. A beta was speaking to his alpha and the Commanding Alpha like he didn’t care – and he really didn’t give a flying fuck in that moment. Hanji burst out laughing, hugging him, tears in their eyes (and Levi will swear to the end of days that those weren’t all tears of mirth). Mike and Auruo joined with snorts and bitten tongues. Pixis threw his head back and laughed from his chest, freely, and when he looked back to Levi, smirked.

“So, Smith, you didn’t tell me you already had this trump card up in your ass.”

Voice clearing, “Yeah, well, sir-“

“Shut it and tell me more. What’s a Pathfinder?”

“A Pathfinder, _sir_ ,” began Levi “is a Forest Keeper. He knows paths, animals and plants in his territory. He’s a skilled hunter, not a brainless one. A brave explorer, a generous wanderer, a silent witness. It’s something my family has handed down from generations,” images of the last hunt with Mikasa came back flooding his mind. Levi almost smiled.

”We are only known in our village, really, nothing big, but… we know the way of the Forest. We know She breathes and cries and lives even if we are not as deeply connected to Her like wolves are. We are only humans,” Levi shrugged, “but once upon a time we knew how to pay our respects. Don’t think that everyone out there is an illiterate swine. I wasn’t risen in that way,” Levi drawled in his monotone voice, furry ears inclined forward, “but I’m still familiar with the doing of a Pathfinder.”

“You’re saying that what we have seen the other day… was a Pathfinder’s doing?”

The silent assault, methodical and studied in minimum details, the inevitability of the results despite all of them being werewolves against mere humans. The targets.

“Yea.”

“And you’re ready to take us to your Pathfinder’s den?” asked Pixis, voice raising over the insistent whispers around them, bystanders shocked and incredulous, already pretending explanations and culprits.

“I am.”

“To launch an attack against your own family?” the listening elders now threw wary glances towards the exchange, eager to know where the raven’s loyalty lay. But Pixis raised a hand and the room fell silent again.

Levi clenched his jaw but didn’t waver in his determination “My family wouldn’t do something like this if not for a good fucking reason! And yeah, I’m tellin’you I’m going to march to hell to have my kids back, you turnip head!”

“Levi, stop speaking like a bully.”

“Hanji, stop speaking over Pixis.”

“Petra, I don’t think it’s a good idea-“

“Fucking choke on your own spit already, you crazy witch! Stop patting my head or I swear-”

“Okay you can all stop before- stop. STOP!”

Hanji, Levi, Petra and Auruo stilled and turned towards Erwin who was positively fuming. From embarrassment, of course. And rage. A lot of it, actually. Mike took a few steps away for safety.

But Pixis tutted satisfied, going back to the pages he was reading before all hell broke loose. The elders in the room seemed to relax thanks to the calming pheromones Pixis was exuding.

“Sir?” one of the elders asked after a few seconds.

“Yes?”

“What… what are we going to do?”

The wrinkles around Pixis’ eyes accentuated with his grin, as he arched his bushy brows and turned toward Erwin “So? What are we going to do, now?”

The old Commanding Alpha must have heard Erwin’s brain cogs working, cause the blonde replied immediately “We run to Shiganshina. Levi will lead us. The village is a day of voyage from the outer border of the Forest. We’ll place another squad halfway, though, so that communications will be faster. We advance first, search the place and try to find out what the heck happened. Trace the pups. Find the Pathfinders. By night, possibly.”

“And then?” urged Pixis, trying not to be distracted by a very exited Hanji, who was already jumping on their feet and clapping their hands.

Erwin uncovered all his cards, “I’ve already sent some of my Scouts out there. Erd and Gunther will meet us and tell what they found out from their snooping around. Then we attack. Give us a couple of hours, then send more wolves. We’ll make an example out of this, but we’ll need a good back up to come back with a dozen of terrified pups.” The alpha refused to think other possibilities other than saving all of their children.

Erwin looked straight to the other Alpha, holding the stare.

He broke it when Pixis turned to the elders and the other wolves and began to list his orders. Erwin felt Levi lightly leaning into his side, looked down and smiled privately.

Erwin did good, if his mate came back to him finally, proud and strong, bleeding with worry and sorrow but ready to fight with claws and teeth. Silent and secret and always there. His perfect shadow.

**

The girl balanced two heavy buckets filled with water and opened the door to the basement. At her back stood two sentinels chosen by Zackley. She clicked her tongue in distaste: the two idiots were so scared that she doubted they’d do anything at all if something were to happen. They didn’t even move to help her.

She muttered other insults under her breath and opened the heavy door. Someone had to bring down there foods and water…she thinned her lips.

“Be careful, Mikasa,” said the older guard.

The ravenette turned and throw the man a scathing look, “They’re chained and restricted, Roger. They can’t do anything.”

“They’re monsters!” hissed the younger, a freckled red head holding his spear with trembling hands.

“Excuse us, we can’t be all Ackermans and don’t be scared of anything,” scoffed Roger. And when he didn’t receive any answer, added “I don’t really know who the real monsters are…the ones being captured or the ones succeeding in that impossible feat.”

It’d been long since the last time they insulted Kenny and his family that way, but she was used to it. Mikasa turned toward the dark staircase and huffed, disturbing to the still air permeating the basement. The place was located under the main building of the village, where Nile Dok and his guards worked for Zackley to ensure things run smoothly in Shiganshina. Nowadays it was rarely used, since they lived in a relatively peaceful time and the prisons had been empty for years. They had the occasional brawl between drunken, but it hardly required that level of restraint.

But not anymore and the more she neared the cells, the more whines and rustles were audible. In three of the ten barred room, were imprisoned small wolves in group of five or six, all scared and trembling. They were different in seizes and fur color, but their special behavior spoke volumes about their supernatural nature.

Mikasa put down the buckets and the whines pitched higher, the pups pressing closer to one another to seek some resemblance of safety. She distributed the water to the first two cells and when she arrived to the last one, the breath caught in her throat. After all that happened she had steeled herself, she had passed days and nights in the Forest looking for her brother or at least, his body. She had learnt again to distance herself from her softest core, the one hart that made her feel _too much_. She had no more time or heart, to spare. But in that moment, all the walls she had carefully built around her crumbled to sand, because there, between three little wolves, were two human children.

“What the hell-!” Mikasa wasn’t weak at all, nor it was the first time something went wrong in the Forest. For the second time that morning, bitterness covered her tongue, the stench of moldy walls poisoned her senses and suffocated her soul. That was _definitely not_ right.

Mikasa froze as the smaller of the two children, the blond one, regarded her with knowing blue eyes. She didn’t even noticed his furred ears moving between dirty hair, she only realized that under those sharp teeth and claws, hidden behind the magic of the Forest which covered them in fur, those little pups were more similar to her than she had ever imagined.

In that moment, as other two brilliant peacock eyes rested on her, Mikasa trembled with the knowledge of a _Pathfinder_ : even if a werewolf had attacked and killed her brother, she could never harm those little ones. They were innocent. They didn’t have any fault, if not being born on the wrong side of the Forest. Those pups were not the ones that had stolen Levi from his family.

Levi would be ashamed and _fucking furious_ if he ever come to know what she and Kenny had done. What they had helped Zackley and his lackeys to do.

With enormous effort, the ravenette steeled herself again and finished her duty, making sure that the pups wouldn’t be thirsty… stupidly ironic, since what was planned for them was even worse…

And yet the blond wolf looked at her and whispered a small “Thank you,” with his hoarse little voice. The brunet one with teal eyes, on the contrary, glared in her direction and growled showing white teeth.

Mikasa snorted. That one had it in himself. She grabbed one rusty bar, her hand clammy and slightly trembling, “Wait for me. I’ll come back.” The brunet pup stopped his growling and his furred ears bent forward. Under the mud and dirt covering his feral face, the expression was almost cute.

But Mikasa didn’t want to risk her luck and retracted her hand from the barred cell. Now she knew that her day wouldn’t be wasted: she had a lot to do and a lot of people to speak to, before it was too late.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


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